We are launching a collaborative R&D competition with up to £13m investment to help crop growers (arable and horticulture, forage and non-food crops) respond to the dual challenges of increasing the productivity of crops while reducing the environmental impact of crop production. This initiative aims to help meet new and existing EU regulations on the approval and use of pesticides (some widely used insecticides, fungicides and weed control products are likely to lose approval from 2010). This competition is particularly relevant to current and new businesses and practitioners across the agricultural supply chain, including those in the following sectors:

• arable crops including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, potatoes and pulse crops
• horticulture
• grasses and forage crops
• crops for biofuels, and other non-food uses
• in the field or protected cultivation.