As one Defra agency appears to be finally learning the painful lessons of IT rollouts gone wrong, another seems to have walked into the same trap. Government launches food security project
THE Government has announced a joined-up approach between public bodies to tackle global food shortages.
The Global Food Security project, launched today (Thursday, March 11), will coordinate research and policy between Government departments, research bodies and executive agencies.
Speaking at the project launch Professor John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientific advisor, said a joined-up approach was necessary to avert ‘a full food security crisis in the future’.
“We cannot continue with ‘business as usual’,” he said.
The UN predicts world food production will need to increase by 40 per cent in the next 20 years and 70 per cent by 2050.
“We need to ensure a secure supply of healthy, affordable food from less land, less water, fewer inputs and producing less waste and emissions,” said Prof Beddington.
The Global Food Security sponsors and partners include five government Research Councils, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Defra, the Department for International Development, the Government Office for Science, the Scottish Government, the Technology Strategy Board and the Food Standards Agency.
Professor Janet Allen, is the Global Food Security project chairman and director of research at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
She said: “By working together the Global Food Security Partners can ensure that we are coordinating a true national programme in food security research, one that cuts across the partners’ remits.
“We will be able to address issues across the entire food supply chain, fostering multidisciplinary research and avoiding overlaps or gaps.”
Peter Kendall, NFU president, welcomed the move.
“Now that there is high level Government acceptance of the strategic importance of agriculture, the launch of Global Food Security shows a commitment by public research funders to work together on this critical issue.”
