AGRIFOOD AND BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE

Their core work

AFBI is Northern Ireland's primary public research body for agrifood, animal health, and environmental sciences. They conduct applied research on livestock health, crop varieties, soil management, and sustainable farming systems — translating science into practical tools for farmers, regulators, and the food industry. Their work spans the full chain from grassland and soil management through animal microbiomes to food safety and processing, with a strong emphasis on decision-support tools and policy-relevant evidence.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), AFBI focused on spatial planning tools, GIS-based decision support, and multi-criteria analysis for aquaculture and land use — essentially building analytical frameworks for resource conflicts. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward microbiome science, sustainability assessment, and climate-smart agriculture, with repeated emphasis on resilience, carbon footprints, and organic farming. This evolution reflects a move from tool-building and spatial analysis toward biological systems understanding and climate adaptation research.

AFBI is converging on the intersection of microbiome science and sustainable land management — expect future work linking soil/ruminant biology to farm-level carbon accounting and resilience metrics.

How they like to work

AFBI operates primarily as an active partner (10 of 12 projects), contributing domain expertise rather than leading large consortia. They coordinated two focused projects (PIGRISK and InnoVar), both in areas where they hold deep national competence. With 222 unique partners across 41 countries, they are a well-connected hub — comfortable working in large European consortia and bringing applied, policy-relevant research to multi-actor teams.

AFBI has collaborated with 222 distinct partners across 41 countries, giving them one of the broader networks among UK agricultural research institutes. Their partnerships span Western and Eastern Europe extensively, with connections reaching beyond the EU through MSCA mobility schemes.

What sets them apart

AFBI occupies a distinctive niche as Northern Ireland's government research institute for agrifood — combining the independence of a public body with the applied focus of an industry lab. They bridge grassland science, animal health, and food processing under one roof, which is rare for a single institute. For consortium builders, they offer practical testing infrastructure, regulatory connections in the UK/Ireland context, and a track record of translating research into farmer-facing tools and policy recommendations.

Highlights from their portfolio

• InnoVar
  Coordinated by AFBI with EUR 699K — their largest-funded project, combining machine learning and genomics for next-generation crop variety testing across Europe.
• SUPER-G
  Their highest single funding (EUR 727K) in a large consortium developing sustainable permanent grassland policies — central to AFBI's soil and land management expertise.
• MASTER
  EUR 520K for microbiome applications in food systems — marks AFBI's strategic move into food microbiome science and represents their emerging research frontier.