On Friday 6 November, the council of ministers decided to jointly invest 18.8 million euros together with the province of Gelderland in a centre for advanced research facilities in Gelderland?s Food Valley region, where Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) is located. This will give a strong impulse to the infrastructure for research into healthy food and new food products and processes. Stimulating knowledge-intensive commercial activity in the field of Nutrition and Health is one of the spearheads of the province of Gelderland?s policy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will contribute 12.4 million euros and the province will contribute 6.4 million. Wageningen UR will be responsible for setting up and managing the Centre for Advanced Agrofood Technology.
The centre will be run on the basis of business rates. Because of this it will be possible to invest on an ongoing basis in expanding the facilities and keeping them up-to-date. This means that future research in the Dutch and European agri-food sector will always have access to the latest facilities. The equipment that will be concentrated in the centre can be used by both businesses and research institutes. The current investment relates to the first phase, in which no new buildings are to be constructed, and in which the equipment in Wageningen UR?s various laboratories remains in place in order to maintain the best possible connection with the necessary knowledge. A second phase is anticipated in which the facilities are to be centralised at Wageningen Campus.
According to Minister Van der Hoeven, "Because of CAT-AgroFood, smaller businesses in the food sector will also be able to take advantage of the latest technological developments."
Project manager Dr Frans Kampers of Wageningen UR said, "Effective innovation in the agri-food sector calls for combining the expertise of various disciplines together with market-oriented creativity. Consolidating the advanced infrastructure necessary for research and development creates a crystallisation point of science, instrumentation and industry in which cross-pollination and synergy can thrive. State-of-the-art facilities benefit the ideas which proceed from the new insights gained during research. The proximity of the various possibilities and the accompanying expertise results in unique combinations of techniques and technologies. At the same time, the centre forms a sort of shop window in which the latest technologies can demonstrate their value to research in the life sciences.?
Food Valley and Wageningen UR are unique throughout the world because they encourage cooperation in the agri-food field between a prominent academic knowledge institute and a widespread group of national and international businesses.