Here is one very good reason why we need to promote science in our schools and keep our scientists in Britain – to work on ground-breaking, innovating research projects which will help feed the world’s expanding population in future years by tackling some of the most damaging and widespread pests, diseases and harsh environmental conditions which can devastate crop yields.

Twelve innovative and vital projects have received £7 million funding to do just that from the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council and the Department for International Development, including the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge. I went to the launch last week and promised you an update about the awards. More than 250 proposals were received, and were whittled down to the final dozen.

NIAB will collaborate with the International Rice Research Institute, based in the Philippines for research on rice genetics that will lead to the creation of climate resistant strains of rice for Africa and Asia.

It is vital work. Rice is the staple food for over two billion people, but lack of water and disease limit its production across the developing world. There is an urgent need for new breeds of rice that can cope with changing climatic conditions and to improve food security across the developing world. Food prices are rising globally, and is beginning to cause severe hardship and suffering.

These are some of the other projects which also received funding:

Halting armyworm rampage with biological pesticide – the African armyworm is a major migratory insect pest, which feeds voraciously on cereal crops. Using a radical new solution, researchers from the UK, Canada and Tanzania will investigate the use of a naturally occurring virus in armyworms with a view to using it as a biological pesticide.

Defeating witchweed famine threat – subsistence crops relied on by billions are at constant risk of attack by the noxious parasitic plant witchweed. Researchers the UK, India and Senegal are identifying ways to protect the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest farmers by developing resistant crops.

Improving food security for 500M people – Pearl millet provides food security for half a billion people in Africa and Asia. The crop is well adapted to harsh environments but climate change is threatening the predictable yields that subsistence farmers rely on. Scientists from the UK, India and Ghana will work to improve pearl millet’s genetic tolerance to drought.

Fighting nematode worms with fungus – Root-knot nematodes are microscopic worms that feed on plant roots, stunting their growth and causing yield losses of US$70 billion each year. UK scientists and their Kenyan colleagues are harnessing a natural soil fungus to destroy the worms’ eggs reducing damage to crops.

Reducing arsenic levels in rice – arsenic contamination of rice paddies is a major problem in many parts of Asia, caused by irrigation with arsenic contaminated groundwater, pollution resulting from base and precious metal mining and the use of municipal solid waste as fertilizer. Researchers from the UK, India, Bangladesh and China will look at types of rice which have lower take-up levels of inorganic arsenic to unravel the genetic basis for this desirable characteristic.

More bananas for Africa – nearly one-third of the sub-Saharan African population is severely under-nourished and 27% of the daily calories intake comes from plantains and other types of cooking bananas. However, up to 70% of plantains are often damaged or destroyed by mematode worms, which feed on its roots. Scientists from the UK and Uganda plan to breed plantains resistant to these worms which will be made widely available to growers to improve their yield and ultimately the dietary intake of millions.