5 December 2008
Support for Science
AgResearch has worked with the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to achieve a funding package that will
allow a significant reduction in the number of scientific and technical positions that would have been disestablished.
“We are able to use this transitional funding from the Foundation to help us retain scientific and technical
capabilities that will support farmers and the food and textile industries,” says AgResearch CEO Dr Andrew West.
“The Foundation was concerned about the loss of national research capability that might be hard to get back again in the
future and has offered AgResearch $1.8 million over 18 months,” says Dr West.
“This will not be sufficient to entirely remove the need for some positions to be disestablished. We have thus made
decisions based on how we believe AgResearch can best address the scientific needs of the pastoral sector. Meetings with
affected staff are being held to communicate the review outcomes.”
AgResearch employs approximately 650 research staff across 4 campuses and two centres.
ENDS