Massey University has an established pedigree as the leading national university of New Zealand and a major international provider of tertiary education which offers the opportunity for individuals to build value in communities, and enables the development of partnerships to address the big problems of society at a local level and on a global scale.
As population pressures and climate change increasingly threaten the planet, our researchers seek to lessen the impact.
We're solving complex social, economic and environmental design problems.
With a rapidly growing global population, food provision is one of the grand challenges of our age.
Massey is committed to promoting health and wellbeing; not just supporting and managing illness or disease.
We're ensuring a sustainable future by addressing natural resource issues.
The world's population is expected to grow from the current seven billion to eight billion by 2025, and nine billion by 2050. This growth in population, in combination with increased wealth, will see the demand for protein-rich food rise dramatically. New technologies need to be developed and more people need to be trained to ensure the world produces enough food, while using fewer natural resources.
Six leading agri-food universities and research institutions from the main food-producing countries in the world have joined forces to find ways to address this challenge. These organisations are: The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in China; Embrapa in Brazil; INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) in France; Massey University in New Zealand; University of California (UC) Davis in the United States; and Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) in the Netherlands. Leaders of these universities are meeting in Beijing on 7 June 2013 to plan next steps for the alliance.
Alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau are currently facing serious problems of ecosystem degradation due to overgrazing by livestock and small mammals. In collaboration with Qinghai Institute of Plateau Biology (a research group led by Professor Yanming Zhang), and Gansu Agricultural University (a research group led by Associate Professor Limin Hua), Massey researchers are investigating the population ecology of native small mammals including plateau pika and plateau zokor.
The Massey team, led by Dr Weihong Ji of the Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, initiated the formation of the 'Gansu Agricultural University and Massey University Research Centre of Grassland Biodiversity' in order to pool their expertise and further strong research collaborations between the two universities.
Dr Ji was appointed the Chief Scientist of the Centre and Adjunct Professor of Gansu Agricultural University. The Centre is based at the College of Grassland Sciences of Gansu Agricultural University.
Faced with enormous future growth, one of the biggest issues currently facing China is the development of sustainable food sources. Researchers at Massey University are involved in a large scale collaborative research project to help address this problem with particular focus on sheep breeding.
The Massey University International Sheep Research Centre, led by Professor Hugh Blair of the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, are investigating gene markers present in sheep. By identifying gene markers that result in non-seasonal lambing, the team hope to develop the potential to create a year-round supply of lamb, significantly impacting both the New Zealand and Chinese economies.
The research collaboration with Peking University and Shihezi University was established in 2005 through the signing of a tripartite agreement between the institutions. The agreement was resigned in 2012 to enable joint research on pasture irrigation, soil testing and sheep breeding between the institutions. Since being formed the group have received three funding grants from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.
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A Chinese animal agriculture specialist with a longstanding relationship with Massey University has been made an honorary professor in the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences.
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