Royal Society — Low numbers of UK students and researchers working in the agricultural sciences mean that we may not have the resources needed to ensure sufficient food-crop production across the globe in the near future. The warning comes from the Royal Society which is conducting a major study exploring how science can enhance global food-crop production.

The issue was highlighted by UK delegates at a two-day workshop * on food-crop production at the National Institute for Plant Genome Research in Dehli, India attended by scientists from India, Brazil, South Africa and Mozambique. The Royal Society has today published a report of this meeting outlining the challenges discussed by attendees.

According to the scientists, a decline in students pursuing agricultural sciences as well as a decrease in the number of university departments teaching these subjects has been a consequence of almost two decades of reducing public investment in agricultural research and poor career prospects. The UK faces a potentially serious skills shortage. Areas of research affected include plant breeding, plant pathology, agronomy, crop physiology, agricultural entomology, weed science, post-harvest biology, soil science and agricultural engineering. …

Professor John Beddington, Government Chief Scientific Advisor said:

The Royal Society’s study, which is due to be published in November, will assess a wide range of biological approaches which have been proposed for improving crop yields and quality and have the potential to enhance nutritional value, minimise waste, increase resource-use efficiency, and reduce reliance on non-renewable inputs. (04/07/09)
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