Bursary

Geoffrey Gent Bursary – an opportunity for career advancement through PGRO………..

It is now some three years since we wrote to a considerable number of companies and individuals in the pulse and vining sector, informing you of Geoffery’s wish to establish a travel bursary to mark his retirement. The time does seem to have flown by and we felt that it would be appropriate to give you an update on the fund, and what has been going on over the last three years.

Potential applicants submit their plans and expenditure to PGRO, and this is then reported through to the Management and Finance Committee who evaluate the proposal. This committee will then make an award or not, dependent on the merits of the submission.

As previously reported we were overwhelmed with the total amount of money that you so generously gave. The initial total was £25,770.

So what’s happened in the last three years? Jim Scrimshaw undertook an intensive trip down to New Zealand looking at vining pea production. Jim investigated all aspects of production, but looking closely at herbicide usage. On his return he gave an informative presentation to the Vegetable Agronomists Association, and also had his report published in the farming journals.

We are all aware of the high regard for Anthony Biddle within the sector by our international friends, and with help from the bursary it enabled him to attend The International Legume Conference in Australia. Here he renewed old acquaintances and made some extremely useful contacts, again his experiences have been reported back via meetings and reports in the farming journals.

Other activities have included a trip to Pulse Canada in Winnipeg to return the visits they have paid to PGRO, and which gave rise to our first UK food ingredients industry meeting to identify the potential role for pulse flour in human diets. Again, we have made contacts which would not have been possible without the benefit of the bursary, and these have been developed and transmitted back to the pulse sector. We have able been pleased to make smaller awards for travel within the United Kingdom to assist in such things as studying for a PhD.

The balance of the fund is now just in excess of £15,000 and we continue to promote the Bursary. The basis of PGRO’s charitable status is also the vital role it can play in education. We now have strong links with Sutton Bonnington, Riseholme College and Oundle School where PGRO staff are delivering lectures to the students, identifying career opportunities for them, and in the case of Oundle School organising relevant science projects. Through these institutions, and the Nuffield Scholarships, we continue to encourage young people to widen their knowledge of the role of protein crops in agriculture, and help financially where this involves travel and materials. It is planned in future that bursary funding will be extended to undergraduates entering colleges to study relevant arable courses which will ultimately benefit the wider industry.

Stephen Francis (Board of Trustees).