The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) is a publicly funded agricultural research organisation employing approx. 650 permanent staff across 7 sites in N. Ireland. AFBI provides research and development, analytical and diagnostic services, and scientific advice to the agri-food industry across a wide breadth of scientific expertise, protecting animal, plant and human health and enhancing the natural and marine environment. We assist companies to add value to their products and improve production and processing technologies and have commercial partnerships which are helping to develop and bring new products to market, and our significant externally funded scientific work includes commercial contracts, European projects and other international collaborations across the breadth of our scientific expertise.
In addition, AFBI’s research programmes for NI Dept. of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) deliver research and development on animal and plant disease, the environment, food safety, freshwater and marine fisheries and rural and agri-food and rural economics. We also provide DAERA with statutory testing, surveillance, emergency response, and scientific advice in these areas, supporting policy development and to enable Northern Ireland to comply with national and EU legislation. These are supported by appropriate quality assurance and accreditation standards together with several national and international reference laboratories.