1. Sustainable Development for the emerging world
+ Sustainable Recovery for UK plc
unlocking the potential of UK Agricultural R+D
Norfolk Farming Conference
February 2012
George Freeman MP
Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk
Chairman of the APPG on Science & Technology in Agriculture
Government Advisor on Life Sciences

2. Contents
• The challenge
• The opportunity
– UK Life Sciences
– UK Agricultural Science and Technology
– Norfolk & the NRP
• Government
• Next Steps
• The Prize
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

3. The Challenge
• Sustainable Recovery for UK plc
• Sustainable Development for the emerging world
• Foresight Report: The Future of Food and Farming
• Global population size will increase from nearly 7bn today to 8bn by 2030, and c
9bn by 2050.
• A generational challenge: we will need to produce twice as much food with half as
much land, energy, water and labour.
• “Sustainable intensification”
• Increasing yield to meet rising demand will be difficult, and requires major investment.
Expect 50% from genetic improvement, and 50% from improved agronomy.
Key challenges:
A. Balancing future demand and supply sustainably
B. Ensuring that there is adequate stability in food supplies
C. Achieving global access to food and ending hunger.
D. Managing the contribution of the food system to the mitigation of
climate change.
E. Maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems while feeding the world.
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

4. Increasing Biofuel Demand
Sourced from: Bill
Gates’ Annual Letter,
Professor Gordon
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
Conway
Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• “Farming is a great example of something critical to the poor that
gets very little attention in rich countries.”
• 2012 focus on innovation in Agriculture
• Devoted almost $2 billion to helping poor farm families
• Preliminary studies show that the rise in global temperature alone
could reduce the productivity of the main crops by over 25 percent.
• In total, only $3 billion per year is spent on researching the seven
most important crops
Case Study: In India rice farmers are switching to a new rice seed called Swarna-
Sub1, which can survive in flooded fields. Their rice fields get flooded every three
to four years, and in past flood years they ended up with almost no food to eat.
Currently, 4 million tons of rice are lost to flooding every year in Bangladesh and
India. But as farmers in the region adopt Swarna-Sub1, they will grow enough
extra rice to feed 30 million people.
Case Study: Working with the UK’s BBSRC, DfID and the Indian Government on a
range of sustainable crop research projects
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

6. The opportunity: UK Life Sciences
• 4 major global markets: Chemicals. • UK has world class strengths in basic
Energy. Food. Medicine. science and research and is Number 1
• Growth! (China 8%, India 7%, Brazil, in the world for bioscience
Russia 6%, Africa 5%) – 3% of world’s researchers. 6% of
• 3 Life Sciences: Papers. 11% of citations. 14% of
• Agriculture. most cited.
• Cleantech. – 2 Unis in top 5. 12 Unis in top 100.
• Biomedicine. 32 in top 200.
• Huge UK export and growth potential – Biomedicine:
• Linkages and Convergence: • Cambridge / London / Oxford
• Agriculture and Climate Change – Plant science:
• Nutrition and Health • Norwich / Cambridge / Reading /
• Environment and Health London/Liverpool/Nottingham/
Rothamsted /Aberystwyth
• UK has highly sophisticated Venture
Finance markets – Cleantech:
• Fast growth businesses creating the • Norwich / Cambridge / London /
Bristol / South West
sustainable jobs of tomorrow
• Clusters of innovation in a rebalanced
• Food represents a significant part of economy.
the UK economy
• Norwich / Cambridge / Oxford:
George Freeman MP. Presentation to A11/A14 innovation corridor
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

7. The opportunity: UK agri science
• Centres of Excellence But....
• Norwich
• Cambridge • Historic under-investment from some parts of
• Reading
• Aberystwyth Government/industry
•
•
London
Liverpool
• <10% of all UK Sci R+D
• Nottingham
• Rothamsted Research
• Scotland • Previously fragmented
• A range of tools
– Basic Plant science
• Lack of research strategy
– Conventional breeding • Lack of industry partnership
– Wide range of technologies including GM
• Not just yield / productivity benefit NOW
– Nutrition / “Nutriceuticals” BBSRC running £400M+ Global Food Security programme
– Environmental to coordinate agri science research across Govt Depts,
• Huge global potential: Agencies and the Research Councils, supported by capital
– Prof Howard Atkinson, Leeds
• GM nematode-resistant bananas investment e.g. £26M into NRP
– Prof Jonathan Jones, Norwich
• Blight resistant Potato BBSRC has also launched ‘industry clubs’ e.g. Crop
– Prof Graham Moore, Norwich
Improvement Research Club with companies including
• £7 million grant to a consortium of researchers to increase the Syngenta and Velcourt as well as 4 Advanced Training
diversity of traits available in wheat via a comprehensive pre-
breeding programme- Partnerships between users and providers of high–level
skills in the agri–food sector
Others need to follow this lead
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

8. GM: a technology in demand
• Global food demand set to inc by 70% 2006 to 2050.
• Benefits But.....
– Yield. GM crops have been shown to increase
yields by 6%-30% on the same land area. • Europe currently grows just 2 GM crops commercially.
– Environment. (Water, Carbon, Pesticides, • EU anti-innovation‘Precautionary Principle’
Cultivation). GM crops have reduced pesticide use • As of March 2011, only 2 GM crops had been approved
by 350mKg. for cultivation in Europe – maize and potato.
– Development. 90% of GM crops grown by • Several member states have issued bans on cultivation
smallest, poorest farmers of these crops.
• 29 countries growing GM crops e.g. 98% of soya • BASF relocated R+D HQ from Europe to USA
exported from South America is now GM • It takes on average almost 4 years for a GM import
• 10% of global ag land in GM production (15m farmers) approval to be completed in Europe. (Twice as long as
• 48% of crops in developing countries GM. (Will exceed comparable jurisdictions). Cost for applicant c E7-
developed countries in 2015) 15million / crop.
• Global area of biotech crops reached 160m HA in 2011 • Agricultural Productivity impact: next 10 years
(up 12mHA on 2010) – EU: 4%
• Global value of biotech seed $13.2bn in 2011 – USA: 15-20%
• The global market for agri biotechnology is valued at – Brazil: 40%
£90bn and is growing at 10-15% pa.
• % of UK public concerned about GM has declined from
43% in 2001 to 22% in 2011.
• Main UK public food concerns: Source:
Reuters
– Cost (61% of respondents) ISAAA
Food Standards Agency, 2011
– Salt (51%) EuropaBio :guide to GM crops and policies
– Key other: (30-50%)
Fat/sugar/waste/hygiene/labelling/additives)
– GM mentioned by 22%
• >2trillion meals containing GM ingredients have been
eaten over last 15 years without one health incident
identified. George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

9. The Opportunity: Norfolk and Norwich
• Norwich Research Park
– Major employer – 11,600 staff, 3,000
scientists, 14,200 students
– £100m research fund, £46m/year invested by the
BBSRC
– 6 world class institutions within 1km radius, with
global reputation.
– 4th in the UK for number of “most highly cited
scientists” by sector (after London and Oxbridge)
Case Study: Prof Jonathan Jones, Sainsbury Laboratory
• Studies basic mechanisms of plant disease and resistance
since 1988
• A centre of excellence for late blight research, which costs
farmers up to £4bn a year worldwide
• Conducting research since 2010 into GM blight-resistant
potatoes
• Testing whether resistance genes from wild potatoes enable
plants to recognize whenthey are under attack.
• Resistance genes then activate the plant’s natural defence
mechanisms.
Source: Prof. Jonathan Jones of the Sainsbury Laboratory
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

10. The Opportunity: Norfolk and Norwich
Institute of
John Innes Food Research
Centre
The Genome
Analysis Centre
Sainsbury
laboratory
University of
East Anglia
Norwich Science Partnership
- world class “sustainability”
Norfolk and Norwich cluster in environment, food, health
University Hospital
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

11. 4 Norfolk Case Studies
Agricultural Tech: New varieties: Biomedicine: Clean Energy:
MutMap Beneforté Anglia DNA Windcrop
Developed with Japanese Based at the Norwich Based in Norwich
scientists in the Sainsbury
Broccoli Research Park
Laboratory at the John Innes Developed by British Installs and maintains small-
Centre scientists at the Institute Offers a range of paternity scale wind turbines
of Food Research and the testing services for the
A new technique to identify and John Innes Centre commercial and retail Provides landowners with
isolate traits in rice such as salt markets
tolerance. access to 'green' electricity-
Bred to have two to three cutting costs and carbon
times the level of the Feb 2011: Launch of
Could cut time to produce AssureDNA, the UK's first off emissions
commercial rice varieties by phytonutrient the shelf paternity testing kit,
3Xfold or better. glucoraphanin than now available in Boots stores Founded in 2009 by John
standard broccoli nationwide Moore, former Lotus
Can soon be applied to other Engineering commercial
crops Great for diet and health Expected turnover from director
October 2011 to September
2012 of £2m
On sale in Marks and Currently has 110
Spencer in the UK and operational sites, and by the
Launching a new drug and
throughout the USA. alcohol testing service in end of the first quarter of
early 2012 2012 will be installing at a
rate of 50 a month
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

12. Government support?
• Coalition protection for the Science Budget: • Life Sciences Strategy 2011
£4.6bn /annum til 2015. (Capital down: • Agricultural Science 2012
– £514m in 2011/12 – All Party Group on Ag Sci: Food Chain
– £449m in 2012/13 – DEFRA / BIS Ag innovation
– £416m in 2013/14
– BBSRC has a strategic interest in food security,
– £447m in 2014/15 Bioenergy, industrial biotechnology and genomics
• Breakdown of spend: – DfiD: Ag Sci as UK export for ‘Trade not Aid’
• £2.75billion to Research Councils / Space • Export drive via UKTI
Agency
• £1.6bn direct to Universities for R+D
• DfiD
– The Foresight Global Food and Farming report 2011 sees
• £150m through HE Innovation funding to Uni’s
significant role for GM and UK AgSci in global development
• £100m to Learned Societies. – DFID – R+D funding across ALL disciplines (of which Ag is
• Chancellor added an extra £470m on science about one quarter, and a small proportion is using GM)
• 2011: £230m
(£200m in Autumn statement) • 2015: potentially £410m
– £70m for NRP (26M) and Babraham (44M) £m for – Collaborations (Gates Foundation, CGIAR, BBSRC,
Translational Research Fellowships Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa...100
• Global Food Security programme - £400M/year varieties of drought resistant maize in Africa)
– Challenge: industry links and translation.
• Technology Innovation Centres (Catapult)
– Cell therapy - Regenerative Medicine • Europe
– CAP Reform
– ((2012: Agricultural + Plant Science?))
– Science based Agricultural Innovation Framework
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

13. Next Steps
• Political support and leadership for UK Agricultural R+D and
Innovation.
– Agriculture as a strategic priority
– Science / evidence based policy on GM + associated technologies
– Public opinion
– Skills
• Europe
– Regulation
– CAP reform
• Support for inward investment / global exports
– A Technology Innovation Centre for UK Ag / Plant Science
– DfiD
– Strategic collaborations with developing (Commonwealth?) nations.
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.

14. The Prize.....
• A sustainable economic recovery for UK plc
• A global role
• Supporting the sustainable development of
the nations (markets + allies) of tomorrow
The county that gave Britain its first Prime
Minister, the seeds of the Agricultural
Revolution and its greatest military hero has a
key role again.
George Freeman MP. Presentation to
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Norfolk Farming Conference. Feb 2012.