Hutton contributions to £680 m economy boost highlighted
11 May 2023, UK: Research by The James Hutton Institute, from soft fruit breeding to pioneering wastewater testing for Covid-19, has helped towards adding up to £680 million to Scotland’s economy.
The figures were revealed in an evaluation report of the Scottish Government’s Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) Strategic Research Programme 2016 to 2022.
The programme saw more than £50 million a year invested in research focusing on key issues in the agricultural and environmental sectors.
Significant projects highlighted include the Hutton’s rapid development of Covid-19 monitoring capability in Scottish wastewater.
The critical wastewater testing capability was developed by the Hutton’s Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW), with Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS), hosted at the Hutton, also providing data analytics.
The work led to the formation of a wastewater monitoring network. By 2021, the network covered around 70% of the Scottish population and helped to provide information to the Scottish Government for the public health response during the pandemic.
The evaluation report also highlights the Hutton’s contribution to £70 million of additional funding from industry in the six-year period. A key example of this is the institute’s royalty income from soft fruit cultivars.
The Hutton’s breeding programme covers both raspberry and blackcurrant and allows exchange with researchers around the world. “This helps ensure fruits are bred with the traits needed to meet the demands of the soft fruit industry and their environments…” and demonstrates commercialisation of research and innovations, says the report.
Further income comes from intellectual property relating to licensing, which also includes the work in soft fruit.
In total, 38 research scientific/analytical tools and methods were developed during the ENRA programme. “Examples include a CREW project to develop a method to estimate erosion risk,” adds the report. “The James Hutton Institute [also] developed a new method to separate and analyse microplastics in environmental sediments. This has implications for knowledge development and policy on plastics in the environment since it should enable cheaper and more efficient analysis of samples.”
The institute was also highlighted for its contribution to the transition to Net Zero emissions goals. Together with ClimateXchange (CXC) and SRUC, the Hutton developed a framework methodology to assess greenhouse gas emissions intensity data on Scottish beef farms. Implementing the framework will help inform decision making related to delivery of the Scottish Government commitment to decrease the carbon footprint of food consumed.
Announcing the evaluation report, Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “The Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme has funded world-class research at Scotland’s SEFARI Research Institutes that addresses nationally relevant goals around protecting and sustaining Scotland’s environment.
“During the pandemic, the monitoring of Covid-19 in Scottish wastewater was a crucial part of the government’s emergency response – helping us to measure the spread and mutation of the virus and keep people safe.
“Research has addressed many other challenges including animal and plant health, regenerative farming, water quality, peatland restoration and land reform. Resulting science has helped to shape government policy and support innovation by Scottish producers and land managers.
“As Scotland’s climate changes, this research has supported business resilience and future-ready communities across the nation.” Th work led to the formation of a wastewater monitoring network. By 2021, the network covered around 70% of the Scottish population and helped to provide information to the Scottish Government for the public health response during the pandemic.”
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