Final Funding Call from Horticultural Quality and Food Loss Network

Funding available for projects tackling UK food loss through research and promoting improved horticultural crop quality.

Globally, over one third of food produced across the whole food chain is wasted. In the UK, 51% of the food wasted is lost before it even reaches consumers, during either the agriculture, post-harvest, distribution or processing stages. A significant proportion of food loss relates to the inherent physiology of the crops, poor control of post-harvest biology, and the efficacy and appropriateness of the control systems applied.

UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) launched the Horticultural Quality and Food Loss Network with the aim of using bioscience research to address this significant food loss. By providing funding opportunities, it aims to attract fundamental or applied plant science-based and technology researchers to develop innovative scientific and technological solutions to reduce food loss and improve the quality of UK horticultural crops.

For the final funding call, a total of £100,000 is available in the following categories:

  • Pump Priming: Short term collaboration funding for projects for use to develop ideas and research plans or conduct feasibility studies for acquisition of preliminary data that would enable a project to be developed beyond the pump-priming phase. £5,000-20,000 per application (£90,000 in total) is available
  • Business Interaction Vouchers: To enable researchers to meet with industry partners to develop project ideas and conduct feasibility trials. Up to £2,000 per application (£5,000 in total) is available
  • Networking Fund Vouchers: To enable academics from different institutions to meet to co-develop ideas and preconcept note proposals. Up to £2,000 per application (£5,000 in total) is available

All UK based researchers at UKRI eligible institutions can apply.

Applications to the 2022 Funding Call must be submitted by 28 February 2022 (17:00 GMT).

(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)