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The head of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has said closing its Crossnacreevy facility will not result in any compulsory job cuts.

The plant and crop testing facility on the outskirts of Belfast is due to close within four years as part of a review of AFBI's operations.

AFBI carries out testing and research for the Department of Agriculture (DARD), other public bodies and firms.

Its chief executive said: "No-one will lose their jobs as a result of this."

Prof Seamus Kennedy told ���˿��� Radio Ulster: "In common with the rest of the public sector in Northern Ireland, AFBI is undergoing a voluntary exit scheme at the minute and a number of staff have opted to leave the organisation through that route anyway.

"But I want to stress there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this move."

AFBI's operations are spread across seven locations in Northern Ireland and Prof Kennedy said they hoped to move the majority of Crossnacreevy's testing programmes to its other facilities.

'Diminishing'

The institute announced the closure on Tuesday and also said it was losing government funding for a number of research programmes, including potato breeding, renewable energy, biomass and poultry production.

The funding was withdrawn by Stormont's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

"The pot of money available for agricultural research in Northern Ireland is diminishing," Prof Kennedy said.

"AFBI's been making strenuous efforts to bring in funding from other sources, including from outside Northern Ireland, to make sure that we maintain the expertise, the skills and the service we deliver to farmers."

In a statement, a DARD spokesperson said: "Difficult choices have been necessary as we have sought to focus available funding on the most strategically important areas of the DARD work programme delivered by AFBI".

'Short-sightedness'

They added DARD's discussions with AFBI "have not simply been about cuts" but also "repositioning AFBI to be able to exploit other funding opportunities".

The statement said AFBI had been "particularly successful" in finding new sources of revenue since 2006 and Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill "wants this to continue and to grow".

However, the trade union, Unite, which represents some AFBI staff, criticised the minister's "short-sightedness" for withdrawing research funding.

Unite officer Joanne McWilliams said: "DARD's austerity cuts will restrict the potential for productivity gains in the vitally important agri-foods sector and undermine food safety and consumer confidence in locally-produced foods."