ADAS has teamed up with the University of Warwick to offer a postgraduate course in sustainable crop production – designed to address a shortage of specialists investigating solutions to food security.
ADAS, which advises the Government, farmers, large manufacturers and the wider agricultural and horticultural supply chain about sustainable food production will offer high level expertise and training opportunities to students taking the brand new MSc course in Sustainable Crop Production at Warwick in October 2010.
James Clarke, Science and Business Development Manager at ADAS, said the partnership would help alleviate a significant skills shortfall in the sector.
“Food security is one of the defining issues of our time, and the UK simply doesn’t have enough scientists able to investigate the issue and implement the solutions that will be needed. It is vital that the UK has the skills required to secure our food and enhance our environment.”
ADAS is very pleased to be working with University of Warwick and contributing to the solution by developing the workforce that will benefit agriculture and horticulture in the long term.
Susie Roques, who will be co-ordinating course content for ADAS has first had experience of the benefits of an MSc.
She said: “I completed my own MSc in Integrated Pest Management in 2006 and am now working in ADAS carrying out applied science and knowledge transfer. I am very pleased to be able to bring my first hand experience of the requirements and opportunities to benefit course participants”.
Elements of the course include the principles of crop production, ecology, the latest advances in plant pathology and integrated pest management and weed control.
Additionally, students will learn the importance of soil for nutrition and water uptake, modern techniques of plant breeding and how crop trials are designed and analysed.
As part of the course, ADAS will provide an on-farm module on cereal, oilseed and root-crop agronomy. Additionally, students will be able to access ADAS data and expertise for other elements of their coursework.
To illustrate the ADAS commitment to the future we are putting words into action and ADAS has also begun recruiting for a vegetable production specialist (see www.adas.co.uk and www.horticulturejobs.co.uk ).
James Clarke added: “As an employer in this sector we know better than most that skills are seriously lacking, so it’s partnerships like the one with Warwick that ensure ADAS and other businesses have access now and in the future to skilled people.”
For more information on the Warwick course, visit http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/study/mscagronomy/