Food

We’re unearthing the next generation of crops, grown to withstand the growing challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Through pioneering research into resilience, sustainability and agri-tech, our resilient strains of fruit and vegetables will sustain us into the future. With your funding, we can continue this vital work.

From potatoes to soft fruits, we’ve been working with farmers and suppliers for decades and across the globe to tackle the threat to future food security. We’ve developed exciting new disease-resistant varieties, experimental breeding programmes and shaping the future of food from the ground up. As climate change threatens to disrupt growing cycles and crop production, we urgently need your support to continue our vital research.

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Producing Britain’s favourite blackcurrants

Since the 1980s, we have been conducting crop research for the Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I group who produce Ribena, helping them grow more resilient and sustainable blackcurrants. Our blackcurrant and breeding research programme is world-leading, with almost half of the blackcurrants grown around the world, and virtually all British-grown blackcurrants, deriving from varieties bred by us.

Climate change presents a challenge for crops that need cold winters to thrive, and farmers whose livelihoods depend on consistent, high-quality harvests. Our Ribena research programme works to uncover practical solutions to this challenge by breeding new varieties of blackcurrants. Through this research, we developed a variety that thrives in warmer winters, helping soft fruit farmers adapt to the problems posed by climate change. This programme also led to the breeding of varieties with an improved resistance to common pests and a higher fruit yield.

We believe that everyone deserves access to safe, sustainable and nutritious food. That’s why we’re pioneering research that helps the food industry grow smarter – developing resilient crops, reducing waste and supporting fair and sustainable supply chains. With your help, we can start unearthing the next breakthrough in food, today.

Your support could help us:

• Breed more resilient crops that thrive despite a changing climate
• Create pest and disease resistant varieties for healthier and more fruitful harvests
• Reduce waste and improve food sustainability across the supply chain
• Advance research into smarter food production for the future
• Train and fund the next generation of scientists

Donate today and help fund the science that tomorrow depends on.