€35m research 'co-centre' to "transform agri-food system"
Professor Aedín Cassidy, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast; Professor Louise Dye, lead of the integrated UKRI research programme, and Co-Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield; Dr Siobhán Roche, Director of Science for the Economy at SFI; Professor Eileen Gibney, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director of UCD Institute of Food and Health
A new €35m research collaboration involving University College Dublin will aim to drive societal and political change in food systems to help the industry's transition to climate neutrality by 2050.
The centre will be run jointly by Queen’s University Belfast, University of Sheffield, and University College Dublin in the first-of-a-kind collaboration across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain.
It will bring together world-leading researchers from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain with research expertise in specific shared areas of common interest, including food safety, food production, nutrition, plant and animal science, behavioural change, data science, food system governance, and the political process of food system transformation.
It will be jointly funded for six years by the Government of Ireland’s Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Shared Island Fund, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture (DAERA), and industry.
Commenting on the launch, SFI’s Director of Science for the Economy, Dr Siobhán Roche, said: “The launch of the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems represents an important development in collaboratively delivering environmentally and economically sustainable transformation of our food system. Together with our co-funders, we look forward to seeing the co-centre becoming a global leader in food system transformation through innovative research and technology development.”
Professor Aedín Cassidy, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, said it had come at a "crucial time" with existing food systems facing a wide range of challenges.
"In today’s society, a tenth of our population is undernourished, while 25% are overweight, with over a third of the world’s population unable to afford to eat a healthy diet. Add to this, our food supplies are disrupted by heatwaves, floods, drought and conflict," she said.
Professor Louise Dye, lead of the integrated UKRI research programme, added: “We need to act now to ensure that we develop a robust, resilient and sustainable food system that provides access to healthy, affordable, nutritious food for all.
"The co-centre will accelerate the transition towards a more environmentally and economically sustainable, transparent agri-food sector which provides healthy food for all. The co-centre will also provide training, education and experiential events to inform the public, academics, industry, policy makers and others about food systems transformation.”
