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Biopesticides can help protect crops and offer a more sustainable means of pest protection to offset the withdrawal of synthetic products, as well as offering the potential of a new hi-tech industry. Before Professor Grant's research there were insufficient regulatory mechanisms to authorise biopesticide products. He worked closely with government bodies such as the UK Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), industry, growers and retailers to identify and address this problem. The main impact of Grant's research was the design and implementation of principles for a new regulatory system for biopesticides in the UK and EU. A Biopesticides Scheme was introduced in 2006 that increased the registration rate of biological products and retailer awareness. Grant also contributed to the REBECA (Regulation of Biological Control Agents) policy action, which informed and shaped EU debate and legislation that was revised in 2009.
Research over the last 20 years by Jane Nicklin (née Faull) and her research group has established expertise in fungi, which has led to impacts in three areas: impacts on the licensing of commercial products for the control of insect pests which affect food crops, which have led to a new product being licensed in the US to the benefit of vine growers; impacts on heritage conservation, where the work has benefitted English Heritage, the National Trust and many other conservation groups; and impacts on public awareness and media engagement with science, in particular through her work with Channel 4's How Clean is your House? in 2009.
Research and knowledge dissemination led by Greenwich on biological pesticides has made a major contribution to the introduction of novel safe commercial pesticides based on insect viruses to help farmers overcome the problems of chemical resistance in major crop pests in Asia and Africa. Research at Greenwich identified effective virus strains, methods of production and formulation which were then developed and evaluated with in country research collaborators before being transferred to local SMEs to start up production in India, Thailand, Kenya and Tanzania. Greenwich advised governments on adopting suitable regulation to support the registration and sale of these novel pesticides.
Dr Robert Falkner's research into international risk regulation for emerging technologies underpins the work of the Nanotechnology Policy and Regulation programme at LSE. On the basis of this work, Dr Falkner was tasked by the European Commission to lead the first ever comparative study of nanotechnologies regulation in the EU and US. This research has stimulated policy debates in the UK and Europe on how to strengthen regulatory capacity in the field of nanotechnologies. The research has highlighted, in particular, the importance of improved transparency about nanomaterials in consumer goods and supply chains. This research finding has influenced the conclusions of the first UK parliamentary enquiry into nanotechnologies regulation and has informed a recent shift in global policy debates towards comprehensive and mandatory nanomaterials registers.
Carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene, provitamin A) are antioxidants which are essential in the human diet and which reduce the onset of chronic diseases. Research in the unit on the carotenoid pathway has provided the tools and strategies to deliver foods with increased levels of nutritional carotenoids. This has led to the production of novel food supplements and to Golden Rice (GR), a humanitarian product aimed at alleviating Vitamin A deficiency in the developing world. Field and intervention trials have shown that GR is effective and its production feasible. The research has led to beneficial impacts on health and welfare, international development, commerce, public understanding and education.
Based on innovative technology invented and developed through research at the University of Southampton, sustainable pest control products by spinout company Exosect are being employed around the world to preserve the global food supply. Since 2008 its bio-control products have been newly adopted in diverse situations: by Sainsbury's in response to consumer pressure to reduce chemicals in food; by Bayer CropScience, who bought rights, in a multimillion pound deal, to a product for the protection of bee populations; by English Heritage to preserve the UK's cultural heritage. The technology has inspired a US$1m Gates Foundation grant for poverty reduction efforts in sub-Saharan Africa and raised awareness among conventional pesticide manufacturers of the environmental and economic benefits of bio-control solutions.
Research conducted by Professor Butt at Swansea University has led to significant environmental and economic impacts. It has provided evidence critical to the successful registration and commercialisation of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae as a biocontrol agent in Europe and North America for insect pests, thereby enabling a reduced dependency on chemical pesticides. Insect pests cause £billions of crop losses globally; this is projected to increase due to intensified farming, pesticide resistance and climate change. Many chemical pesticides have been withdrawn due to the risks they pose to human health and the environment, creating a need for benign alternatives. A novel risk assessment showed that the risk to human and animal health was minimal, as metabolites generated by these fungi did not enter the food chain. Furthermore, the data and risk assessment methodology developed have been used by industry and regulatory authorities (such as the European Food Safety Authority) to make informed decisions about the safety of fungal biocontrol agents.
Impact: Economic: The first fungicide-based control schemes minimising UK barley yield losses (saving approx. 516K tonnes / £95.1M per annum). A risk assessment method, which minimised pesticide usage.
Significance: Barley is the second most popular cereal crop grown in the UK — in 2012, 5.52 million tonnes of barley were grown (market value £1.02 billion). The research led to savings to the UK farming industry of ~£5.4 million per annum
Beneficiaries: Farmers, malting and brewing industries, UK tax revenue.
Attribution: Drs. Oxley, Havis, Hughes, Fountaine, and Burnett (SRUC) identified the pathogen and produced a field test for early identification of infestation.
Reach: Barley growing, malting and brewing sectors, seed and agrochemical industries UK-wide and in Ireland.
This research (total cost £320,738) discovered which agronomic practices influence fusarium mycotoxins contaminating wheat grain, and led directly to a Food Standards Agency (FSA) Code of Practice aimed at reducing the mycotoxin concentrations in wheat grain for food processing. The impact has been to improve management practices leading to less waste. The implementation of the code led to fewer loads of wheat, sent by farmers for flour milling being rejected due to mycotoxin contamination above the EU permitted limits, and less food grade wheat grain wasted. These benefits have been independently estimated as worth £26 million in 2010.
Cranfield's work on ethylene supplemented storage is now exploited in the supply chains to major supermarkets in the UK, including Waitrose and Tesco, reducing waste and avoiding volatility in supply for fresh food products such as onions and potatoes. By prolonging storage life by up to six weeks it is also having a positive impact on the UK's self-sufficiency in these products, displacing imports from overseas.
Complementary work has also led to commercial ethylene scrubbing technologies for packaging, which typically save around 50% of in-store waste and add two days to the product life for a range of fruit and vegetables. Such packing is now in use in most mainstream UK supermarkets, and in the USA where it has created a new export market for the manufacturer.