Agri-food skills needed to meet the needs of rising world population

Editorial Department • Published 6 May 2010 14:50 0 Comments

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More skilled people will be needed in the agri-food sector to help deliver the government's strategy on food security, according to Dr. David Llewellyn, Principal of Harper Adams University College who has spoken for the first time at a meeting in Enniskillen for prospective students and their parents.

Dr. Llewellyn, who met industry leaders and young people during a two day visit to Northern Ireland, outlined the latest developments in policies relating to higher education and skills development in the agri-food sector.

He said there was a need to "join up" national efforts to improve food security with some of the latest thinking on UK higher education provision.

The Government's Food 2030 Strategy set out a framework to increase sustainable food production by 50 per cent by that date in the light of global challenges such as fast growing world population and climate change.

Even the United Kingdom is set to have its population increase from 61.4 million in 2008 to 71.6 million by 2032.

He went on, "In January, the Government also launched the UK Cross-Government Food Research and Innovation Strategy which reported serious shortfalls in high-level skills within the agri-food sector, including in agronomy, livestock science and food production.

"A recent report of the Land Use Foresight Panel highlighted the prospect of conflicting priorities for land use, water supply, conservation and the increasingly fine balance required between increasing agricultural production and environmental management, all of which will need the attention of highly skilled people in the period to 2060.

"The major political parties have suggested that science and agriculture need to go hand in hand to address these issues and, in turn, that high level skills will be required to deliver our food requirements whilst protecting the environment for future generations.

"Given the priority placed by Government on improving food production through the use of science and technology, it might be expected that higher education policy makers would have seen the need for this subject area to be supported in the same way that, with the backing of organisations representing employers, other subjects in science, technology, engineering and mathematics have been given a degree of priority in recent years. But, the UK higher education strategy, published last November, was silent on the issue of food security and, furthermore, a recent report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills has placed the development of skills in agriculture and food production, based on its assessment of their future economic impact, near the bottom of a table for priority attention in the period to 2017.

"This flies in the face of sector-based evidence that there are significant skills shortages, and skills gaps, in agriculture and food production that need to be addressed. LANTRA estimates, for example, that the land-based industries will require up to 60,000 new entrants over the next 10 years, whilst the position in the food sector is equally as serious.

"The divergence of policy between our need to boost food production and higher education needs to be addressed to provide a degree of assurance that whichever Government comes to power in May, food security, and skills development in the agri-food sector, will continue to be seen as priorities for investment.

"The good news is that the Higher Education Funding Council for England has recognised the importance of land-based subjects in recent years and is working with universities and colleges to make sure that growing student demand for land-based courses can be met through a recent initiative to increase student intakes in 2010, though beyond that point the picture is much less clear.

"Other parts of the UK need to be encouraged to take a similarly bold step to ensure that provision is protected and enhanced in what is likely to be a difficult higher education funding climate in the next few years."

Among the prospective students attending the Harper Adams University College meeting in Enniskillen recently was Kyle Wilson from Lisnaskea. who has an interest in agricultural mechanisation. A student at Erne Integrated College in Enniskillen, he has been looking around the university and felt impressed.

His sister, Leanna is finishing her final and fourth year at Harper, graduating in September with a degree in country management and environmental science. She spent her placement year working on the Crom Estate but hopes to travel to New Zealand for a spell.

Dr. Llewellyn outlined the various course headings available at Harper and explained the importance of their placement or sandwich year where students get to work for employers.

Harper Adams is now one of just four universities or colleges specialising in land based study and has a 96 per cent employment rate for students, six months after graduation.

The College is contnually developing its campus, with the next project the construction of an Aerobic Digester which would mean they would be the only university in the UK to deal with their food and farm waste to provide electricity for the campus.

Other renewable energy projects include water abstraction, a biomass unit, photovoltaic cells, solar energy,a grass roof and recycling plant.

The College's open days are on May 8, September 22 and October 17 and the Higher Education Choices event takes place on July 5 and 6

The College will be present at next week's Balmoral Show.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 06 May 10

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