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Tim Benton appointed as UK's Global Food Security Champion

Professor Tim Benton, the current Chair of Africa College, has been appointed the Champion of the UK's Global Food Security

Professor Tim Benton, the current Chair of Africa College, has been appointed the Champion of the UK's Global Food Security. GFS brings together the UK's main public funders of food security related research to coordinate efforts and deliver added-value from their collective activities in this area. The GFS Champion will help co-ordinate research activities, as well as contributing leadership and networking to the programme. This will give a boost to food security research, helping to link funders, the research community, public and users of research.

Tim said on his appointment "Ensuring that there is sufficient food to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, and that it is produced in an environmentally sustainable way, is one of biggest challenges we face. I'm delighted to be playing a key part in meeting this challenge."

Professor Janet Allen, speaking on behalf of the Global Food Security programme coordination group, said "We are looking forward to welcoming Professor Benton to this role. It is vital that we deploy the knowledge, skill, and resources we have in the UK to feed a growing population and we must do so rapidly and efficiently. Professor Benton's experience means that he is perfectly placed to bring together a large and varied food security research community in the UK."

Tim will maintain his research interests at Leeds and will therefore continue to be part of Africa College. Tim's appointment underlines the importance of what the College has been doing to focus on food security and to undertake inter-disciplinary research.

BBSRC have released comments from Tim on his new post via their monthly newsletter

See also: http://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk
19th September 2011