Over 1,500 delegates descended on Belfast last week to attend the 67th meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science in the Waterfront Hall.

The newly refurbished Waterfront Hall is a highly impressive setting and Belfast has certainly changed much for the better in recent years. However, credit must go to the local organising committee chaired by Sinclair Mayne, the deputy director of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). They put on an event that showcased the very best of NI in terms of venue, evening events, visits and organisation. It will be a hard act for Estonia to follow.

While the mood at last week’s conference was largely positive towards the role of research in agriculture and food, there remains much uncertainty around the future of research at AFBI. Budget cuts have led to a significant reduction in staff. AFBI has also been left with a sprawling estate which still belongs to DAERA and comes with an annual cost of over £6m.

From the outside, it looks like an organisation that has generally got bogged down in the bureaucracy of government, with too much control given over to career civil servants with little understanding of the needs of industry. Researchers need to get back to doing research.

It is always dangerous harking back, but much of the advances made in farming in NI over the last 50 years are directly attributable to the work done by local scientists who had a clear understanding, and a vision, for the industry they served.

AFBI must lead the way for NI agriculture in areas such as plant and animal breeding, genetics and disease. Research must continue to be ambitious and raise the bar in terms of output, efficiency and environmental sustainability. While change and rationalisation is required, it is vital NI agriculture retains that independent research base.