Dick Shaw – Senior Regional Director
On behalf of the CABI team
CABI is a not-for-profit intergovernmental organisation owned by its 48 Member Countries with a presence in over 20 Countries that was established over a century ago. This presentation will introduce its global activities in supporting smallholder farmers and their associated supply chains through research, knowledge provision and extension service support highlighting its award-winning flagship Plantwise Programme and current focus on pesticide risk reduction and integrated landscape management. It will then take a closer look at our activities in the UK now that we are based at Silwood Park with a high-level Memorandum of Understanding with Imperial designed to drive collaboration. Our specialist facilities will be presented which include a licensed plant health quarantine suite of CE rooms, a collection of 30,000 living microorganisms stored in liquid nitrogen and a biopesticide production unit amongst others. The focus will then move to our research teams which cover areas including Invasive species and biocontrol; molecular identification of fungi and bacteria; diagnostic and advisory services for any crops; microbial and preservation training; social sciences including Monitoring and Evaluation; digital development including data analysis, modelling and data policy and practice and finally support to funders wishing to maximise impact. CABI’s publishing business will also be summarised including opportunities for Imperial staff and students to engage. Now that we have recovered from the disruption of our move from Egham to Silwood we are keen to make the most of our partnership.