Defra has launched a procurement procedure to find a private "joint venture partner" for York-based research agency Fera.

On 1st May, Environment secretary Owen Paterson issued a statement updating MPs on the procurement process that will float off the majority of Fera's capabilities to the private sector.

The Defra secretary said, "I am announcing today that Defra is launching a procurement exercise to find a joint venture partner for Defra’s Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera). A Joint Venture will protect and enhance its scientific capabilities in the long term, and free it from public sector constraints.

"This will give Fera the opportunity to access new markets and grow its non-Government business, which it cannot do in its current capacity."

The partial privatisation was first announced last year. In his announcement last week, the Defra secretary reiterated that several of Fera's key areas of work will remain part of the Defra network, in light of the regulatory and enforcement roles they play. These include the Bee Health, Plant Health and Seed, and GM Inspectorates. Paterson said these would be merged with AHVLA to form a new agency by October 2014.

However, up to three quarters of the science agency's functions could be handed over to a private investor, including its food and farming research capabilities.

In recent years, policy makers and agricultural research groups have increased calls on the government to invest public money in farmer-led research, and in his final address to the UN Council of Human Rights in March special rapporteur Olivier de Schutter pointed out that relying on a private sector-driven 'research industry' will not deliver advances that benefit farmers, citizens or the natural environment. De Schutter clearly stated that government has a key role to play in funding a research agenda that benefits farmers and wider society, with a view to achieving global food security – he pointed out that this is not a priority for private investors, who want research spending to be rewarded with new products or access to new markets.

Nevertheless, the Defra secretary said he would make the final decision on Fera's new private partner by the end of the year. Up to 29 companies are thought to be interested in bidding for Fera.

There have been strong reactions to the government's decision to effectively privatise one of its key research agencies.

Geraldine O’Connell, national secretary of trade union Prospect, which represents workers at Fera, has said Defra is seeking a joint venture not to provide better science, as ministers claim, but rather to reduce its overall funding to the agency. "Members are rightly concerned that commercial interests will take precedence over government science, particularly if Defra budgets continue to decline," she said.

Shadow secretary Maria Eagle also voiced misgivings. She said, "This announcement does nothing to quell fears that the agency will be privatised and scientific standards will be compromised for commercial concerns… This looks like a secretive sell-off by a government that has shown once again that it is anti-science."