§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received a report from the Priorities Board for Research and Development in Agriculture and Food.
§ Mr. GummerThe Priorities Board for Research and Development in Agriculture and Food has submitted its progress report to the Agriculture Ministers and the chairman of the Agricultural and Food Research Council. The sponsors are grateful for the work which Dr. Brian Smith and the members of the board have put into their report. This is the first report since the board was reconstituted in 1990. It includes the comments of its advisory sectoral groups—ASGs—covering arable crops, the environment, food, horticulture, monogastrics and ruminants. The ASGs bring together representatives of the main R and D funding bodies from the public sector and industry, consumer and environmental interests.
The report sets out the progress of the board and the new ASGs. It identifies the future topics that the ASGs will be concentrating on, including:
- Animal Welfare (including housing and management systems);
- Animal health;
- Funding of grassland and forage research by industry;
- Novel crops and alternative uses for arable crops;
- Effectiveness of Technology Transfer in the Horticultural Industry;
- Allocation of public funding to the different sectors of the Food Safety R and D programme;
- Public funding of research into energy conservation, waste treatment and water quality in the food industry;
- Effect of availability of qualified specialists on Environmental R and D.
The sponsors have agreed that the report should be published. This is now being arranged and advance copies are being placed in the Library of the House.