CSIRO is not cutting research into agriculture and claims that it is doing so are false, the Acting CEO Dr Ron Sandland said today.

“In the Science Investment Process, CSIRO is maintaining its investment of 25 per cent of our total research budget into plant and animal based agricultural research, that is, a sum of around $240 million dollars per annum going forward,” Dr Sandland said.

“What we ARE changing is our focus. Instead of spending some of our research dollars on incremental agricultural research, which is increasingly being done by companies, we intend to maximize the benefit to Australian farmers by researching the technologies which will transform the value of their farm produce.

“We will focus increasingly on differentiated agricultural products and raw materials directed towards the high end in the value chain.

“We will also ensure we maintain our focus on biosecurity, for example our outstanding work in the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong on animal vaccines to prevent the spread of avian influenza and foot and mouth disease.

“It is vital that Australian agriculture is sustainable into the future, and our research will focus on this in many areas. We intend to place a greater emphasis on matching agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability and its use of valuable natural resources such as water and land.”

Dr Sandland said the Science Investment Process was designed to build on existing capabilities and position CSIRO's science for the future. In addition, to CSIRO's $240m investment in ag-research we will be using the capabilities of CSIRO in areas such as mathematical sciences and information technology to lift our capability to do cutting edge agricultural research.

“Australia and the rest of the world are facing many challenges, and CSIRO needs to capture the benefits of rapidly developing technologies that will transform the future of agriculture,” he said.