I’m conscious of not really having done justice to the recent announcement of considerable Malaysian government funding for a Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) near Kuala Lumpur.
First of all, I neglected to congratulate the University of Nottingham on securing the money for the Centre. And I didn’t mention that the announcement came at a conference on Crops for the Future – Beyond Food Security organized by the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in collaboration with the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) and with support from the ISHS Working Group on Underutilised Plant Genetic Resources, the ISHS Commission on Plant Genetic Resources and the ISHS Section on Tropical and Sub-Tropical Fruits.
But I suppose the main thing I should have discussed is the relationship between this new Crops for the Future Research Centre and Crops for the Future the international organization. Because it is not entirely clear to me that the two are necessarily synonymous, or even overlapping. ((Physically, the two sets of offices are half a hour’s drive from each other. Oh, but they will have people on each other’s boards.)) Will the Centre be like the little worm-like creature that bursts out of John Hurt’s chest and grows and grows and takes over the Nostromo?
Luigi, this is a remarkable piece of intelligence, but the anxieties about malign growth are unfounded. CFFRC will add much research and training capacity to address and overcome production and use constraints of “underutilised crops”. Wouldn’t we all wish other governments would be as generous as Malaysia’s and, rather than just paying lip service, effectively support the diversification of agriculture through greater crop diversity? CFFRC and CFF are separate legal entities, but will closely coordinate their work. CFF has indeed a seat on CFFRC’s Board. CFF will continue to focus on its role as an information platform and international facilitator, but will be locally strengthened through the brain power and opportunities of a research center that is the largest of its kind (dedicated exclusively to “crops for the future”). Note that CFFRC will work under CFF’s direction and within its mandate, but it is a company under Malaysian law. CFFRC was officially launched this week by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and if you are patient for another day or so and give us some breathing space after an exhausting Symposium we will properly report on the CFF website on recent developments.
Thanks for the clarification, Michael, and very best wishes to both entities.