The work of the UK-CGIAR Centre was cited at an evidence session in Parliament on 4 November 2025 as part of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee inquiry on innovation and global food security. The inquiry is currently investigating the UK’s role in contributing to global food security as well as exploring how science, innovation and technology can help increase food production in a sustainable manner. The session on the 4th heard evidence from experts on the challenges faced by the global food and agricultural sectors and potential solutions to food insecurity.
Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, and Professor Cristobal Uauy, Director of the John Innes Centre, highlighted how the Centre was harnessing the best of UK science to achieve development impact through partnerships with CGIAR and local partners. Dr Elouafi said, “the new innovation centre created in 2023, UK-CGIAR, is helping bring more scientists into the development sphere.”
Professor Uauy, who is also a project lead for the UK-CGIAR Centre’s wheat improvement project, described the work of the UK-CGIAR Centre as a model approach for creating impactful collaborations which take innovation forward and bridge the natural and social sciences. When asked about what more government can do to help harness UK science to help tackle food insecurity, Professor Uauy stressed the importance of continuing to support initiatives like the centre.
Watch the full session here.
image credit: mangMwangW/Flickr.