Scientific Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector

The 2009 Teagasc Walsh Fellowships Seminar is taking place at the RDS, Dublin, today, Wednesday 11 November, as part of Science Week Ireland, and is highlighting the achievements of young scientists working in the fields of food, agriculture, environment and economics.

This year’s Walsh Fellow of the Year and winner of the RDS medal is Brid Coffey, a student at the Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre. She received the award for her research work and paper on Biocontrol of Escherichia coli O157:H7: Evaluation of two anti-E coli O157:H7 Bacteriophage in the cattle rumen. Brid is from Caherciveen, Co. Kerry.

The winner of the best poster is Paul Sullivan, a student at Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre. His poster was on Enhancing the nutritive aspects of wheat bread through the inclusion of milled barley fractions.

The seminar focuses on the contribution of the Walsh Fellowships Programme to knowledge-based support for the agri-food sector, highlighting the potential of the sector to make an innovative contribution to the Irish economy.

Speaking at the seminar, Teagasc Director Professor Gerry Boyle said:”Scientific advances, security of the world food supply, consumer trends and market developments, place the agri-food sector right at the heart of Ireland’s smart green economy. There is growing concern about securing a supply of safe and nutritious food, promoting a high-quality rural environment, improving energy security and building on Ireland’s indigenous strengths.”

“PhD students today must be prepared for a variety of careers outside of academia and they must be to the forefront in building Ireland’s international reputation in agri-food and in green technology and sustainable development,” he said.

The guest speaker at the seminar is Ms Damini Kumar from NUI Maynooth, who is European Ambassador for Innovation and Creativity. She encouraged the young scientists who are finishing their PhD programme, to be innovative. She said:”Publication in scientific literature is an essential part of the process, but in today’s economic climate, you must have an eye on the application of your work within the sector. Innovation will be central to your future careers both inside and outside research.” She emphasised the role of creativity and innovation in realising a smart green economy in Ireland.

The presentations made today include a look at the anti-cancer properties of buttermilk, a new approach for veterinary drug residue analysis, milk quality and somatic cell counts, biocontrol of Ecoli, understanding the genes that can deliver resistance to potato cyst nematode, the factors influencing farmers’ decisions to convert to organic production, feeding of sows during gestation and its impact on the carcass quality of offspring, and the production and efficiency of Jersey cross dairy cows.

Professor Gerry Boyle stressed the need to maintain investment in research in the life sciences and in particular, in applied research and technology transfer. He pointed out that the economic returns to research projects in the agri-food sector has been demonstrated to yield a real internal rate of return of about 45 per cent, which compares more than favourably with the general requirement that public investment projects should provide a real rate of return of five per cent.

Abstracts from papers presented can be viewed on www.teagasc.ie