She was welcomed to NIAB by Cambridgeshire Deputy Lord Lieutenant Caroline Bewes DL, and introduced to Lucy Miles, the Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet, Dr Bharatkumar N Khetani, High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Councillor Peter Fane, Chair of South Cambridgeshire District Council. NIAB CEO Professor Mario Caccamo then accompanied Princess Anne into the Sophi Taylor Conference Centre, where she met the main speakers and Crops for the Future chair Professor Peter Gregory, before joining 60 delegates from across industry, academia and government on the BBSRC workshop on crop diversification and underutilised crops.
The Princess spoke to delegates on how diversifying crops in food systems can improve health of people and the planet, highlighting examples from her experience travelling and visiting rural communities and farmers across the world, as well as her own involvement on her estate and farm in the Cotswolds. She followed presentations by Professor Gideon Henderson, Defra Chief Scientist, Professor Guy Poppy, BBSRC Interim Executive Chair, FAO's Dr Fen Beed and Professor Sayed Azam Ali, CEO Crops for the Future.
She then toured NIAB's glasshouses with Professor Mario Caccamo and Dr Lydia Smith, viewing examples of under-utilised and minor crops that could become more popular in the UK.