Ahead of the Royal Welsh Show, a £7.3m EU-backed package to help
address skills gaps and assist businesses in the food and
agriculture sector develop new products and services has been
announced today by Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural
Affairs, .
Led by Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological,
Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) the investment will
support two initiatives, Future Foods and BioInnovation Wales.
BioInnovation Wales will receive over £3m EU funds to help
employers address high level skills shortages in the agri-food
and biotech sector.
BioInnovation Wales, in partnership with Swansea University, will
target people already working in the sector, offering
bespoke qualifications and industry accredited skills tailored to
industry needs. This includes technicians, consultants,
researchers and managers working in the food and biotechnology
supply chain.
Future Foods will receive £1.9m EU funds to drive forward growth
among Welsh food businesses, improving their competitiveness
through research, science and technology.
Future Foods, working with BIC Innovation, will deliver world
class expertise in food science, technology, and nutrition
research and development to ambitious Welsh based businesses
seeking to develop healthy, market creating products targeted at
UK and international markets.
Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs,
, said: “The agri-food and
biotech sectors are vital to Wales. Investing in high level
skills and research to drive forward these sectors is essential
for economic growth and jobs, ensuring businesses are on the
cutting edge of innovation and competiveness. I am really
pleased that focus areas will include consumer wellbeing and
healthier products, assuring product quality and food safety and
protection from food fraud”
Professor Mike Gooding, IBERS Director, said: “We welcome this
comprehensive EU funding package at a crucial time for the food
and agriculture sector. This is a vote of confidence in the
expertise of IBERS and its partners, enabling us to make science
accessible to more companies in Wales to further develop their
employee skills, and to create innovative, healthy products that
are fit for the future”.
Further funding will come from the University and partners
involved in the projects, including BIC Innovation.
