RAU academics to help battle antimicrobial resistance in the agrifood system
27 August 2024
A new network to understand and tackle how antimicrobial resistance impacts UK food production from farm to fork has been set up by a team including senior academics from the Royal Agricultural University (RAU).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where microbes become resistant to the medicines we use to control them, presents a major threat to society and could threaten our ability to prevent or cure disease in the future and Governments and health agencies across the globe are taking action to combat AMR.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is now supporting eight new transdisciplinary networks to tackle AMR including AMAST (the AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary Network) which has been established to understand the challenge of AMR in the UK’s agrifood system and look at new ways to tackle these challenges.
Dr Lisa Morgans, Senior Lecturer in Animal Health and Welfare at the RAU, said: “The development of antimicrobial resistance is a natural process but one which has accelerated at such a rate that, in many cases across human health care, we are seeing lifesaving medicines no longer working.
“The misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a driver of AMR, and farming is not exempt when it comes to its role in protecting the efficacy of antimicrobials into the future. UK agriculture has set a strong example in recent years in reducing antibiotic use by 59% since 2014.
“The next steps in the fight against AMR may be harder and require challenging and system-wide change. Being part of AMAST is not only a fantastic opportunity for research and teaching at the RAU, but equips us to support UK agriculture in the fight against AMR.”
The AMAST Network will involve members from different agrifood production systems, such as crop, livestock and aquaculture, from primary production through to the consumer, alongside transdisciplinary academics, including bioscientists and social scientists, as well as many other areas that may not have previously engaged with AMR as a challenge.
Through interviews, workshops and themed community meetings, all members of the network will be able to bring their perspectives on the key threats of AMR in agrifood. The network will collectively identify the challenges that AMR poses within agrifood, prioritise areas of opportunity and collaborate to develop solutions as well as understanding where more research is needed.
The network will be co-ordinated by Dr Matthew Gilmour, based at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, Norfolk, with an international expert advisory panel providing oversight.
He said: “The agrifood system is incredibly complex with a diverse community of key players that are involved in the production of safe and nutritious foods. So, understanding the challenges of AMR requires a non-traditional approach that pulls together the whole community.”
The AMAST Leadership Team is made up of the Quadram Institute, Newcastle University, Royal Veterinary College, University of Stirling, Royal Holloway University of London, Cranfield University, James Hutton Institute, Royal Agricultural University, Scotland’s Rural College, University of Bristol, University of Leicester and University of Southampton.
Partners on board the AMAST Network include ADAS, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, CAB International (CABI), The Environmental Research Institute (University of Highlands and Islands), the FAI Farms, Fera Science, the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA), Menter a Busnes, NHS Highland, Ricardo, UK Agri-Tech Centre and Vet Sustain.
To find out more about the AMAST Network visit www.AMAST.org.uk or contact at AMAST@quadram.ac.uk