Improving future farm resilience, efficiency and productivity is critical to addressing the local, national and global challenges of sustainable food production.
The University of Plymouth is investing more than £10 million to strengthen its position at the global forefront of agriculture, aquaculture and sustainable food production research and innovation.
Its new Centre of Research excellence in Intelligent and Sustainable Productive Systems (CRISPS) brings together a vibrant community of transdisciplinary researchers, working towards addressing how to sustainably feed a global population of 9 billion. Founded upon research excellence in aquaculture, agricultural technology and soil health, and underpinned by investment in cutting-edge facilities, the Centre will create the critical mass required to ensure impactful research and real-world deployment in the UK and beyond.
CRISPS aims to scale up its collaborations with businesses and policy makers on a regional, national and international level.
A key focus is to develop partnerships with South West businesses, supported by its cutting-edge facilities and regional growth in agri-tech, to create a ‘living laboratory’ using the region’s uniquely diverse landscape. This will include innovations such as handheld scanners, animal- and robot-mounted sensors, and real-time soil health monitoring that can collect data to help inform current practice and facilitate precision farming at scale.
Nationally, its distinctive whole-systems research approach will make a significant contribution to UK Government objectives around sustainable food production, environmental land management, and net zero policy, as well as aligning with DEFRA’s focus on food security.
The Centre is being supported with a grant of more than £5.7M from Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England Fund (UKRI), which is designed to expand small but outstanding research units.