Impending Skills Shortage In Agricultural Science Puts World Food Supply At Risk

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.

Medical News Today