Checking wheat selections in the field \u00a9 NIAB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAre NIAB\u2019s commercial services available to those outside of the UK?<\/h3>\n The research that we conduct can, of course, be applied anywhere in the world. Our flagship project on wheat, for instance, is designed to bring together the three grasses that originally formed wheat 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent in Iraq. This work and the material we have developed is interesting for the UK and Europe, but plant breeders can apply it anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
Regarding the field work, this is conducted with farmers and is therefore quite local. In the UK, we have a farmer membership of about 3,000, whom we help with their agronomy for their membership fee.<\/p>\n
With our soft fruit breeding activities, our strawberry, raspberry, and apple varieties can go all over the world, and we are now looking at new markets for them in Spain and South America.<\/p>\n
Are you anticipating any particular challenges post-Brexit?<\/h3>\n When a plant breeder wants to place a variety on the market, they need to prove that it is distinct, uniform, stable, different to other varieties, and has a value for cultivational use. This underpins the statutory work we do for DEFRA, and this is governed by EU regulations. Post-Brexit, we still don’t know exactly what that regulation, and the work we do to support it, is going to look like.<\/p>\n
We are in very close dialogue with DEFRA about this and other areas \u2013 and in some of those, we do know that the UK will be implementing its own rules. Some of that will be good for NIAB because there will be more work for us. However, being disconnected from what is happening in the rest of Europe will perhaps be quite challenging. That being said, there are also potential benefits. For instance, once the UK is no longer a part of the EU, we will have an opportunity to look again at legislation around genetic modification and gene editing.<\/p>\n
Is there an appetite for that in the UK now?<\/h3>\n There are two things that need to be taken into consideration. First, the reason that plants and crops are different from each other is because of mutations; the reason one plant is resistant to a disease and another isn’t is because of a mutation. Plant breeders and researchers use mutagens to accelerate these changes, but it takes a very long time to sort out the desired mutations from the ones we don\u2019t want. One simple form of gene editing is about creating specific mutations without creating others we don\u2019t want; it does not involve introducing any foreign DNA.<\/p>\n
There is currently a discussion in Parliament about whether there is scope for re-evaluating the UK position on gene editing under the Agriculture Bill because we know that the European position is out of line with that of many other countries. NIAB would like to see the Cartagena protocol definition of genetic modification being used in the UK, because that would mean that gene editing in the way I have just described it would be exempt.<\/p>\n
Genetic modification that involves introducing foreign DNA is a completely different thing, of course, and requires a wholly separate discussion. It should nevertheless be highlighted that no harm has ever been reported from either of these practices per se (though how they are applied needs careful management in a farming system). Rather, they are perfectly good ways of achieving required changes in crop plants and, if we want to stop using chemicals, then we have got to find other ways to achieve our goals, and GM and gene editing offer a wealth of opportunities and benefits.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts on the EU\u2019s \u2018farm to fork strategy\u2019 \u2013 and perhaps a UK alternative post-Brexit?<\/h3>\n The Agriculture Bill is going through Parliament at the moment, and this will generate a UK version of the EU\u2019s strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic has also made people much more aware of the food they eat \u2013 and it has been quite remarkable to see how our supermarkets and supply chains have coped, especially in terms of ensuring the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, and I hope we can build on that. Indeed, the big question of how reliant we want to be on other countries for our food is being addressed at the moment in the discussion around the Agriculture Bill.<\/p>\n
Regarding the EU\u2019s strategy, I was recently involved in a webinar where the European Commissioner described the farm to fork strategy, and he repeatedly emphasised the role that small farms can play. While this is good in principle, there is perhaps a need to define what is meant by \u2018small\u2019 \u2013 and thus what is also meant by \u2018large\u2019, as many of those who might be classed as having \u2018large\u2019 farms could also be classed as having several \u2018small\u2019 farms with control of a large acreage.<\/p>\n
Regardless of such debates, however, it is clear that we need to maximise the yield on the areas we currently have so that we can use other areas for preserving biodiversity \u2013 I am a great believer in the land sparing argument.<\/p>\n
What role will NIAB\u2019s Crop Science Centre play moving forwards?<\/h3>\n NIAB and The University of Cambridge are soon to announce an alliance, with Professor Giles Oldroyd being appointed by the university to lead the Crop Science Centre partnership with NIAB. Oldroyd, whose work focuses on plant nutrition, particularly nitrogen fixation, has said that he hopes that nitrogen fertiliser will be a thing of the past by the time he retires.<\/p>\n
To achieve that goal, his work involves GM. However, the Crop Science Centre isn\u2019t only about that; it is about bringing together the excellent science, and particularly the longer term science, from Cambridge University, with the applied science of NIAB to achieve impact.<\/p>\n
There are three pillars to the Crop Science Centre \u2013 crop nutrition, photosynthesis, and plant health \u2013 all focussed on delivering chemical free genetic solutions to farms globally.<\/p>\n
Can you tell me a little about NIAB\u2019s recent impact study, which will be published this month?<\/h3>\n The economic impact study was designed to explore NIAB\u2019s impact on the economy by illustrating the return on investment for both the government and the economy if a pound is spent at NIAB. We selected five examples from our activities, rather than trying to look at the institution as a whole. These included variety classification, our strawberry breeding activities, and our experimental vineyard in East Malling.<\/p>\n
The study\u2019s results were very positive, revealing that for every pound spent with NIAB, \u00a317.50 is recovered for the economy.<\/p>\n
Tina Barsby OBE<\/strong> \nChief Executive<\/strong> \nNational Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB)<\/strong> \n+44(0)1223 342200<\/strong> \ntina.barsby@niab.com<\/strong><\/a> \nTweet @niabgroup<\/a><\/strong> \n www.niab.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nPlease note, this article will also appear in the third edition of our <\/strong><\/em>new quarterly publication<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chief Executive of the UK\u2019s National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), Tina Barsby OBE, spoke to The Innovation Platform about the history of the institute and crop innovation. There are many challenges facing crop innovation in the agriculture sector \u2013 from food security, to climate change, to sustainable development and arguments around land use. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24433,785],"tags":[550,529,19351],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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