CABI News

CABI has joined the AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary Network (AMAST) which has been launched to battle Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the agrifood system.

The new network is setting sail to understand and tackle how AMR impacts UK food production from farm to fork and will harness perspectives from across agrifood stakeholders and prepare new ways to tackle these challenges.

AMR, where microbes are becoming resistant to the drugs we use to control them, presents a major threat to society and our ability to prevent or cure disease is threatened in the future.

National and international governments and health agencies are taking action to combat AMR. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is now supporting eight new transdisciplinary networks to tackle AMR.

Challenge of AMR in the UK’s agrifood system

The AMAST Network has been established to understand the challenge of AMR in the UK’s agrifood system. AMAST will receive ca. £650,000 UKRI funding as part of its work to tackle infections.

The network will be co-ordinated by Dr Matthew Gilmour, based at the Quadram Institute, with an international expert advisory panel providing oversight.

“We’re really excited to be part of this new community. The agrifood system is incredibly complex with a diverse community of key players that are involved in the production of safe and nutritious foods. So, understanding the challenges of AMR requires a non-traditional approach” said Dr Gilmour. “A collaborative, transdisciplinary approach built with stakeholders from the bottom up can uncover innovative ways to combat complex problems like AMR.”

Collaborate to develop solutions

AMAST will, for the first time, bring together various agrifood communities with academic researchers from different disciplines, to identify from the bottom up the challenges AMR poses within agrifood, and then collaborate to develop solutions.

Dr Colin Miles, Head of Strategy, Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth at UKRI, said, “Tackling the creeping pandemic of anti-microbial resistance – increasing resistance to antibiotics – is a large, complex problem. Ten million people each year are expected to lose their lives to it by 2050.

“Rather than taking single-discipline approaches, we need researchers from across disciplines to come together and look at all aspects of the problem – from human behaviour and how we grow crops and rear animals for consumption to how we manage the environment or use technology, clinical management strategies and challenging established cultural norms.”

Members from different agrifood production systems

The AMAST Network will involve members from different agrifood production systems, such as crop, livestock, and aquaculture, from primary production through to the consumer.

It will also bring in transdisciplinary academics, including bioscientists and social scientists as well as other areas that may not have previously engaged with AMR as a challenge.

Dr Phil Taylor, CABI’s European support for Plantwise, said, “Inclusion of CABI as a partner on board the AMAST Network extends the network into crop cultivation and to an international audience, the international contacts of CABI will be vital in ensuring the work of AMAST is tackling AMR on a global level. The work will align well with CABIs work in the One Health Hub to support evidence synthesis and learning on One Health issues.”

The AMAST Leadership Team is made up of the Quadram Institute, Newcastle University, Royal Veterinary College, University of Stirling, Royal Holloway University of London, Cranfield University, James Hutton Institute, Royal Agricultural University, Scotland’s Rural College, University of Bristol, University of Leicester and University of Southampton. Partners on board the AMAST Network include ADAS, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, CAB International (CABI), The Environmental Research Institute (University of Highlands and Islands), the FAI Farms, Fera Science, the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA), Menter a Busnes, NHS Highlands, Ricardo, UK Agri-Tech Centre and Vet Sustain.

Through interviews, workshops and themed community meetings, all members of the network will be able to bring their perspectives on the key threats of AMR in agrifood. The network will collectively identify and prioritise areas of opportunity, as well as understanding where more research is needed to plug gaps in our understanding.

Additional information

Main image: The new network is setting sail to understand and tackle how AMR impacts UK food production from farm to fork and will harness perspectives from across agrifood stakeholders and prepare new ways to tackle these challenges (Credit: Pixabay).

AMAST Network

To find out more about the AMAST Network visit www.AMAST.org.uk or contact at AMAST@quadram.ac.uk

About UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Big challenges demand big thinkers – those who can unlock the answers and further our understanding of the important issues of our time. Our work encompasses everything from the physical, biological, and social sciences, to innovation, engineering, medicine, the environment and the cultural impact of the arts and humanities. In all these areas, our role is to bring together the people who can innovate and change the world for the better. We work with the government to invest over £8 billion a year in research and innovation by partnering with academia and industry to make the impossible, possible. Through the UK’s nine leading academic and industrial funding councils, we create knowledge with impact.

See also the UKRI press release ‘New research networks will tackle antimicrobial resistance.’