RYEDALE is a step closer to being home to two new national agri-tech centres following confirmation of a £50 million funding allocation in the Autumn Statement.

The National Agri-food Innovation Campus at Sand Hutton is set to be home to a new Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) and a Centre for Crop Health and Protection (CHAP).

Bids for the two centres, which have been put forward by a consortium of industry organisations, received a boost last Wednesday when the Chancellor allocated £50 million of funding, stating the “best way to back business is by backing science”.

The centres will be based at the Innovation Campus alongside the Food and Environmental Research Agency (FERA) which is also based on the site, and is one of the organisations involved in the consortia.

Kim Matthews, head of Research and Development at AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Beef and Lamb, led on the bid for the CIEL.

He said: “We were very pleased to see this in the Autumn Statement, it means the money is definitely allocated.

“It marks a very exciting opportunity for the livestock industry to innovate and develop for the future.”

Mr Matthews said the CIEL will work with 12 existing research partners across the UK, with the York-based centre overseeing research, resulting in a number of executive jobs.

After being selected as preferred bidders for the funds, negotiations are underway to agree the service delivery contracts for the new centres.

Mr Matthews said: “For the Livestock Centre we hope to have these contracts underway by the end of the year, and hope to be operational as soon as we can.”

Julian Rudd, head of economy and Infrastructure at Ryedale District Council, said: "It is wonderful news that the FERA site at Sand Hutton is to be the location of two national centres of excellence for the agri-food sector. The Crop Health and Protection Centre and the Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock are worth £50m in themselves but, vitally, they mean that the national focus of innovation and improvement in these areas is based in Ryedale and can help drive local productivity.

"Ryedale District Council works closely with the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Local Enterprise Agency for York, North Yorkshire and East Riding to ensure that our part of the world is a national and international centre for the science of food and agri-tech.

"These decisions help to achieve that ambition and will lead to improved techniques and science that benefit arable and livestock farmers here in Ryedale."