Zoetis is joining forces with the Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL). This pioneering Centre shares unique state of the art facilities and brings together distinctive expertise both from major academic and research institutes across the UK and also the active participation of industry members representing the whole livestock and food production chains. The Centre was established in February 2016 and has a carefully designed multidisciplinary approach in solving the major challenges that the livestock industry is facing globally in order to ensure food security. Areas like mining the “Big Data”, improving genetics and developing novel solutions to safeguard animal health and productivity would be central to the activities of this Centre.
Clint Lewis, executive vice president and president of Zoetis International, said: “In order to meet farmers’ and veterinarians’ evolving needs in context of limited natural resources and pressure on productivity, we need a culture of continuous improvement across the whole supply chain. The CIEL is a fantastic platform to encourage innovation in the UK livestock industry, which is key to the success of providing the best possible quality and sustainable food for customers. “
The Centre has received an award of £27 million ($36 million) from UK Innovate and has already succeeded in bringing together several leading industry members from the retail, veterinary, nutritional, genetics and other relevant sectors in developing a truly international agricultural research hub.
Nick Major, corporate affairs director of ForFarmers and CIEL interim board chairman, added: “Our aim is to increase the economic performance of UK farming to benefit farmers, retailers and consumers alike. Support from companies such as Zoetis will help keep the UK at the forefront of animal health and production of livestock in sustainable conditions.”
Dr Theo Kanellos, director of commercial alliances at Zoetis explained: “CIEL has been industry co-led since its inception and Zoetis supported the application and concept of this multidisciplinary and multisectorial centre from the very early stages, as we firmly believe that these key animal health challenges need a cohesive approach and the contribution of several leading scientists from different academic organisations and allied industry.”
