INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND RURAL SCIENCES

That this House notes that agricultural and land-based environmental research in Ceredigion has a long and proud history, which can be traced back to the formation of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station (WPBS) in 1919; notes that the WPBS first received government funding in 1956, and that ever since research at the site has played an essential part in informing government environmental and agricultural policy; pays tribute also to the work of the current Institute in researching the potential of crops for energy; recognises the significant contribution that manipulating animal diets and obtaining energy from biomass could make to reducing methane and carbon dioxide emissions; further notes that the new Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is set to become a world renowned centre of excellence for teaching, research and enterprise, building on the established reputations of Aberystwyth University and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and re-establishing a historical link between the two; urges the Government to ensure that future research at IBERS is fully funded, in view of its stated commitment to tackle climate change and support sustainable farming; and further urges the new IBERS to maintain the excellent farm research facilities at Trawscoed.