The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) will intensify its research collaboration with the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the University of Greenwich, UK. ATB Director Prof Dr Barbara Sturm and Prof Dr Ben Bennet, Vice Director of the NRI, have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The agreement is to develop close cooperation between the two institutes in sustainable and innovative technologies to enhance agricultural systems globally. The emphasis is to take part in joint specialist research, development and academic programmes related to food, agriculture, environment and sustainable livelihoods within the principles of circular, diverse and innovative bio-economy processes.
The two institutes plan to develop various activities, which include the exchange of information and research results, exchange of scientific staff and students, joint scientific publication and realisation of joint research projects. Moreover, opportunities for conducting joint lectures, seminars and conferences will be explored.
The primary focus areas in which the two institutes will work together initially will be 1) Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Diversification 2) Food Loss, Waste Reduction and Value Addition and 3) Climate Change, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“We are very much looking forward to intensifying our collaboration with NRI in the field of drying and drying technologies to start with”, underlines Prof Dr Barbara Sturm, ATB’s Scientific Director. “Improved conservation technologies which preserve the product quality and can be realised at low cost can contribute to the reduction of food losses worldwide, but in particular in the global South. We will start soon with joint online workshops and hope to get the scientific exchange and first common projects off the ground this year.”
It is expected that the collaboration will extend to other areas of mutual interest in both pre-and post-harvest agricultural production.
The Natural Resources Institute (NRI) is a specialist research, development and education organisation of the University of Greenwich, UK, with a focus on food, agriculture, environment, and sustainable livelihoods. Using an interdisciplinary approach, NRI undertakes research, teaching, training and consultancy to address interrelated global challenges affecting everyone from local farmers and consumers, to the UK food industry, to smallholder communities in the developing world. https://nri.org/
The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) is a pioneer and a driver of bioeconomy research. ATB creates the scientific foundation to transform agricultural, food, industrial and energy systems into a comprehensive bio-based circular economy. ATB develops and integrates techniques, processes and management strategies, effectively converging technologies to intelligently crosslink highly diverse bioeconomic production systems and to control them in a knowledge-based, adaptive and largely automated manner.
ATB with its approx. 250 employees is member of the Leibniz Association, that connects 97 independent non-university research institutions from various disciplines.
Contact ATB: Helene Foltan presse@atb-potsdam.de