Sponsors and partners
To download a PDF brochure of the sponsors and partners information please go to Publications.
Global Food Security is a multi-agency programme. It brings together research interests of Research Councils, Executive Agencies and Government Departments.
Research Councils UK (RCUK)
- A strategic partnership between the 7 UK Research Councils
- Enables the Councils to work together more effectively to enhance the overall impact and effectiveness of their research, training and innovation activities
- RCUK has overseas representative offices in China, USA and India
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
BBSRC is part of the Research Councils UK partnership and
the lead Research Council on food and agriculture. BBSRC has
responsibility for bioscience research that spans the food chain
from basic plant, soil and animal science to food science and
diet and health.
- Currently invests around £200M a year in agriculture and food research and is the primary funder of postgraduate
training in this area - Funds research in UK universities, research institutes, industrial and international collaborations and public engagement activies
- Provides strategic core research funding to 8 institutes (see Research centres)
- Relevant research includes:
- Fundamental research on model plant and animal species
- Basic and applied research on farmed species including crop and animal diseases and animal welfare)
- Managed ecosystems (from soil-root interactions to farm and landscape scale)
- Post harvest research including food safety, food composition and structure, processing and manufacture
- Human diet including basic nutrition, psychology of food choice, diet and ageing, and maintenance of health through diet
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
ESRC is part of the Research Councils UK partnership. The ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research that has an impact on business, the public and third sectors.
- Food security related research focuses on markets and economics, security, and dietary habits and practices
- Has partnered with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to improve the FSA's access to food-related social science evidence
- Follows 40,000 UK households to map modern Britain's social landscape - a study to which the FSA is contributing
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
EPSRC is part of the Research Councils UK partnership. EPSRC is the main UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, investing more than £800M a year.
- Food security-related research includes water supply and control systems for crops
- Examples of how EPSRC research contributes to addresses food security problems include:
- Energy use during food production, which if made more efficient could mean lower prices for the consumer
- Better food packaging to reduce spoilage and reduce waste
- Better carrier systems for nutrients and flavours in fluids
- Development of sensors to detect contaminated water, foodstuffs, chemicals and perfumes
Medical Research Council (MRC)
MRC is part of the Research Councils UK partnership. The MRC mission is to improve human health through world-class medical research, by encouraging and supporting research to improve human health, producing skilled researchers, advancing and disseminating knowledge and technology and by promoting dialogue with the public.
- Invests around £17M a year in food-related research and training
- Remit includes human nutritional requirements, the effects of food on health and disease, allergies, food-borne diseases and toxicity
- Interacts and co-invests in research initiatives with BBSRC and ESRC, especially the BBSRC-led Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC) scheme
- Has strategic links with the Food Standards Agency
- Investments include Collaborative Centre for Human Nutrition Research (Cambridge); Epidemiology Unit (Cambridge); Epidemiology Resource Centre (Southampton); International Nutrition Group (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine); and Centre for Nutritional Epidemiology in Cancer Prevention and Survival (Cambridge).
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
NERC is part of the Research Councils UK partnership. Its mission is to gather and apply knowledge, create understanding and predict the behaviour of the natural environment and its resources.
- Funds research on environmental systems and their pressures, both human and natural, and ways to manage the environment sustainably and productively
- Research relevant to food and agriculture includes:
- Understanding patterns of land use and biodiversity change
- Managing environmental resources on farmland
- Impact of farming on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
- Marine ecosystems and fish stock
- Risk assessments of genetically modified (GM) crops and other GM organisms
- Pest and disease ecology and control
- Research outcomes provide the food sector with information to plan for the future
- Partners with various other bodies on food-related research including Defra, DFID, BBSRC, ESRC and the Scottish Government
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is responsible for the Government’s overall strategic direction of UK research, innovation and skills policy.
It provides funding for research through the Research Councils (supporting basic and early stage applied research and postgraduate skills) and the business-focused Technology Strategy Board.
BIS hosts the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Sir John Beddington, and the Government Office for Science.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Defra is the lead Government department responsible for agriculture and food, including the development and implementation of policy on the environment, rural affairs, farming and food production. It invests around £65M a year in research relevant to the farming and food sectors (including animal welfare).
- Four research programmes address Defra’s strategic priorities:
- Agriculture and climate change
- Sustainable water management
- Resource efficient and resilient food chain
- Sustainable farming systems and biodiversity
- Supports research to underpin GM risk assessments and animal health and welfare
- Contributes, along with BBSRC, to a Technology Strategy Board research programme with the farming and food sectors
Department for International Development (DFID)
DFID promotes development and poverty reduction in poorer countries, in particular through achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). DFID’s research in agriculture is in support of MDG 1: to eradicate poverty and hunger, including “to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger” between 1990 and 2015.
- Provides poor farmers with access to technologies and helping national governments make better policies
- Commissions and funds research across a number of agricultural sectors including forestry, fisheries,and livestock
- More than £61M invested in agriculture-related research this year
- Supports the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to deliver high quality and effective international public good research
- Provides support to regional research organisations in Africa, and joint programmes of advanced science research with BBSRC on crop science and animal health
- Supports public private partnerships, including the African Agricultural Technology Foundation and GALVmed, as well as a ‘Research into Use’ programme to get existing research and technology into use
- Pushes the case for international increase in research funding in Africa through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security (GPAFS)
Food Standards Agency (FSA)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent Government department set up by an Act of Parliament in 2000.The role of the FSA is to protect the public’s health and consumers’ other interests in relation to food.
- Has a wide remit for microbiological and chemical food safety across the whole food chain, from farm to fork
- Shares responsibility for nutrition with UK health departments, and helps consumers achieve and maintain a healthier diet
- Providing information to consumers about the food they eat, including protection from food fraud and illegal practices
- Research portfolio includes food safety - UK production and consumption, and imports; healthier foods and diets; food behaviours and information; risk-based information; and strategic and cross-cutting evidence and analysis
Government Office for Science
The Government Office for Science (GO-Science) is headed by the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor John Beddington. It exists to ensure that Government policy and decision-making is underpinned by robust science and engineering evidence and long-term thinking.
The principal role of GO-Science is to support the Government Chief Scientific Advisor in carrying out his functions.
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government funds research relevant to Global Food Security through the Scottish Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD).
- Invests around £50M a year in strategic research on sustainable and profitable agriculture for plants, animals, land management and impacts on human health
- Funds research mainly in its 5 Main Research Providers – Macaulay, Moredun and Scottish Crop Research Institutes, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, Scottish Agricultural College
- Has commissioned 4 policy research programmes from its Main Research Providers
- Meets more immediate needs of Scottish Government by acting as a 'broker' for policy-led research
- Through Marine Scotland, supports policy research into the marine environment, capture fisheries and aquaculture
Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board aims to make the UK a global leader in innovation by promoting and investing in innovation enabled by technology for the benefit of business, to increase sustainable economic growth and to improve quality of life.
- Food security-related activities include:
- The Sustainble Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform (SAF IP) develops technologies to increase food production and reduce environmental impact
- Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents Innovation Platform (DIIA IP) includes the development of tests for rapid detection of targeted animal diseases
- Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Network aims to increase knowledge exchange between business and academia in food processing, bioscience for business and genetics in animal husbandry
- Works closely with government departments and agencies, devolved administrations and regional development agencies, and the Research Councils
