AgriSearch is to seek a doubling of the farmer levies that fund the organisation, with the process to make this happen now underway.
Details of the increase to the levies were discussed at a breakfast for farming stakeholders hosted by AgriSearch at this year’s Balmoral Show.
>AgriSearch, established in 1997, provides a vehicle through which beef, dairy and sheep farmers in Northern Ireland could have a direct involvement in production-orientated research.
The levy system currently generates a total funding stream of just over £400,000 for the organisation.
Total funding generated over the past 28 years has amounted to some £10 million. This, in turn, has been used to pump prime research projects with a total value of £70 million.
Levies
<p&
gt;AgriSearch general manager, Jason Rankin, outlined the reasoning behind the levy increase.
He said: “Our levies have remained unchanged for many years. In the meantime, the scope of the organisation has increased dramatically.
“What started out as one-man operation now comprises a management team of nine people.
“In tandem with this, our research outreach has increased in a corresponding manner.”
Rankin also spoke of the organisation’s goals for the future that will require additional resources.
“We have plans to further expand the scope of AgriSearch significantly during the periods ahead. Making this happen will require greater levels of funding,” he said.
The AgriSearch representative recognises the need to get buy-in from all relevant stakeholder groups to secure the envisaged increase in levy rates.
“This is a process that may take up to a year to complete. But Balmoral Show was the obvious starting point.”
>AgriSearch recently launhced its new five-year strategy. It is centred around equipping farmers to face future challenges and placing producers’ needs at the heart of research and innovation in Northern Ireland.
Rankin said: “Farmers continue to experience unprecedented challenges. AgriSearch has a crucial role to play in helping Northern Ireland farmers to succeed in economic, environmental and indeed social growth.
“This new statement of strategy has been developed by the AgriSearch Trustees to ensure that we continue to deliver for our farmer levy payers.”
>AgriSearch research funding
The past 28 years have seen the organisationsupport funding 25 PhD scholarships. Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the organisation’s landmark GrassCheck service.
On average it costs £135,000 to fund a PhD research student.</p>
Look
ing ahead, AgriSearch will be actively seeking ways to ensure that the knowledge amassed courtesy of this work can be better made available to farmers.
One way of achieving this would be for graduate students to commit an additional year with AgriSearch, post the completion of their doctorate, during which time they would actively communicate the significance of their research work with farming organisations and groups.
