International Barley Hub Field Centre opened in Invergowrie

The £62 million International Barley Hub (IBH), comprised of several developments including the Field Centre, has been funded through the Tay Cities Deal Partnership and marks a major milestone in establishing Scotland as a leader in global food security and crop resilience.

Barley is the most predominant crop grown in Scotland, and supports 40,000 jobs north of the UK border, largely due to its key role in the worldrenowned Scottish whisky industry. Demand for the crop has grown in recent years, due to £2bn of investment in national distillery infrastructure, growth in the craft beer sector and increased whisky sales. However, research from the James Hutton Institute has found it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet this demand, due to adverse weather conditions reducing barley yields, changes in pesticide bans and crop management challenges.

The IBH will promote scientific discovery and innovation to tackle these issues, as well as piloting new technologies for crop management, such as precision agriculture sensors and drones.

Investment in the IBH is also expected to generate over £105m benefit to the UK over the next 30 years, nearly £60m of which will be in Scotland. It will also generate 1,281 full-time jobs in Scotland, increasing to 1,838 FTE jobs in the UK after 10 years.