Welsh Natural Resources Minister Alun Davies officially opened a new uplands research station in Ceredigion on Friday. Pwllpeiran Upland Research Platform will be operated by Aberystwyth University's IBERS centre.

Pwllpeiran has been a research centre since the 1930s, working to improve the viability of farming the uplands of Wales. With increasing emphasis on food quality and provenance, and pressure to manage land in a way that is sensitive to the environment, the science of agriculture has a key role to play.

Speaking on Friday, the minister said, "I am delighted that IBERS have successfully secured the lease on the Pwllpeiran farm estate. This is a real opportunity for IBERS and its partners to develop a vibrant upland research platform here in mid Wales. The platform will be a real asset to the area and to Wales more broadly and I am confident it can play a major role in my work to develop a Welsh agriculture sector that is modern, sustainable and resilient."

Professor Wayne Powell, IBERS Director, added, "The challenges of food security, greenhouse gas reduction and protection of biodiversity require informed and improved use of the uplands through the development of new plants and animal systems. Innovative, science-driven approaches will be developed to meet these challenges, and as such IBERS is exceptionally well positioned to lead the UK uplands agenda."

The uplands in Wales encompass 80,000 hectares.

IBERS sources said the new research platform, working with other UK research institutes, would seek to find solutions to challenges including:

• Making farming systems more environmentally friendly whilst providing farmers with sustainable incomes
• Benchmarking sustainable production and valuing biodiversity in the uplands
• Creating sustainable local food supply chains that allow traceable products of known provenance to be supplied to consumers
• Supporting animal systems that minimise their environmental footprint by incorporating modern innovations in feeding, management and genetics
• Developing management tools that allow upland agriculture to be visualised and managed in a way that ensures benefits are maximised and costs, both financial and environmental, are minimised
• Informing evidence-based, validated policy development