THE IDEA. A strategic development project
On 22 November 2018 it was announced that the Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC) project - championed by the James Hutton Institute with industry and academic partners - will receive investment funding as a core project within the £300m Tay Cities Deal development programme. The project was green-lighted as part of an overall investment package of £62 million directed at two Institute-led innovation centre projects which will also see the International Barley Hub project become a reality.
This transformational investment in the research infrastructure associated with totally-controlled-environment agriculture will mean the UK can play its part in leading the science agenda around this rapidly expanding market which is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2025.
The APGC will bring together a unique combination of state-of-the-art facilities that will develop the underpinning science to bring increased commercial, economic and environmental benefits to the agriculture, food and drink sectors by delivering:
- improved crops
- sustainable new ways of growing and storing existing crops, and
- reduced risk arising from the impact of climate change.
The centre embodies the idea of Agriculture 4.0, a green revolution with science and technology at its heart, and the aim of feeding future populations. It will also boost the impact of the UK’s International Development agenda.
Find out more about the development of APGC in our latest newsletter: Hutton TCD Project Newsletter – August 2021.
