NANCY NICOLSON FARMING EDITOR

It’s no secret the James Hutton Institute (JHI) has been strapped for cash for years.

And yet, less than a year since the announcement that JHI had won £62 million under the Tay Cities Deal, the news that dozens of jobs are at risk came as a shock to staff.

Confidence had been riding high at the Invergowrie campus after the UK Government pledged £20m for an International Barley Hub and another £25m for an Advanced Plant Growth Centre, with the Scottish Government chipping in an extra £17m.

It was more than JHI had even dreamed of securing, and it looked like a game-changer for the 550 staff.

But there isn’t even a sniff of the money and the institute’s hopes of getting a spade in the ground by the end of this year

– or the ambition of having the centres up and running by 2022 – are fading fast.

Annual accounts have carried warnings of funding shortfalls for many years and it would seem this week’s announcement of imminent job cuts is pre-empting the 2018-19 figures which are due out within weeks.

JHI finances tread a rocky road. In 2014, 70 administrative and scientific staff lost their jobs after core funding was cut, and in 2017 there was a 42% fall in earnings, with the Scottish Government’s capital income contribution dropping from £3.1m to just £100,000.

That prompted JHI’s chairman, Professor James Curran, to warn that the level of investment was well below what was required to maintain the institute’s infrastructure and estate.

Government spending has not been any more generous in the ensuing years and now JHI’s core income from the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division is under review, along with the message that financial resources for research are “constrained”.

Brexit has added to the institute’s woes, as it will make applications for valuable European funds and collaborations more complex than operating within the EU. A worst-case scenario in a no-deal situation would mean JHI could still apply for various funding streams in Europe, with the UK having ‘third country’ status.

The irony is that the phenomenal scientific work and collaborations taking place at Invergowrie and Aberdeen are being lauded across the world.

As global concerns over the environment grow, staff are working on topical projects that are designed to futureproof food production and underpin agriculture, locally and internationally.

This should be a time to reinforce an asset like JHI, not force cutbacks.