National Centre for Food Manufacturing Funding Boost for Seafood Sector in Lincolnshire
2 February 2022
Written by: hgamble
The seafood sector in Greater Lincolnshire has received a huge boost with vital funding announced to develop education and innovation within the industry.
The seafood sector in Greater Lincolnshire has received a huge boost with vital funding announced to develop education and innovation within the industry.
A key partnership including the National Centre for Food Manufacturing at the University of Lincoln, UK, has this week secured part of the £220 million Growth Renewal Fund and will be used to position Grimsby as a global centre for seafood innovation and education.
The National Centre for Food Manufacturing is an industry-leading educational centre based in the heart of Lincolnshire’s fenlands, offering flexible courses to help people advance within the food sector.
Grimsby and the surrounding area will benefit from almost £500,000 to develop programmes that will grow the local seafood industry with improved skills, technology and innovation.
The programme will work alongside the UK Food Valley Pilot (Seafood) and will help to cement Grimsby’s position as the world’s global seafood hub.
Professor Valerie Braybrooks, Dean of National Centre for Food Marketing said: “The team at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing is delighted to be working with seafood and hospitality businesses in Grimsby, along with our partners, to deploy our expertise to help them innovate and develop the skills needed to address the grand challenges of the day such as the need to adopt digital technologies, reduce their carbon footprint and develop new innovative processes and products.
“Grimsby is a globally important seafood processing centre employing over 5,500 people directly and 10,000 across the supply chain.
“It is crucially important that Grimsby’s businesses are able to retain their competitiveness in the face of growing international competition and help ensure Greater Lincolnshire Agri-food sector’s reputation as the UK Food Valley, a world-leading centre for food trade.”
The project will address some of the industries main challenges, including the drive for sustainability, the need to digitalise, and moving towards carbon reduction.
Eligible businesses can apply to receive an innovation and support package, along with an average of 12 hours one-to-one business support. Seafood businesses also have the opportunity to receive a grant of £3,000 to £9,999 to support activities that improve productivity and efficiency.
ENDS