ANU-CSIRO form new food, agriculture science precinct »

The collaboration will transform the way agricultural and environmental research and innovation is conducted in Australia. The ANU and CSIRO have joined forces in a new collaborative precinct to help build a sustainable future for the environment, agriculture and global food supplies. The National Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Precinct (NAESP) was launched by the Minister for Industry the Hon Ian Macfarlane MP. The NAESP will bring together the best research brains from ANU and CSIRO to foster research and innovation essential to food security and environmental stewardship in the face of global population growth, land degradation and climate change. "The collaboration will transform the way agricultural and environmental research and innovation is conducted in Australia," said ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young AO. "NAESP will become a one-stop shop for integrated plant breeding and natural resource management, which will also create opportunities for new biologically-based industries." The new partnership aligns the goals and research strengths of two world-leading institutions while allowing each to maintain its unique role and identity. As part of the NAESP, ANU and CSIRO will set up a new Centre for Genomics, Metabolomics and Bioinformatics, to underpin research projects in transformational agriculture.