Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

Welcome to the webpages of SASA: a community of 100 scientists and their supporters, based in Edinburgh, whose work helps to ensure the quality, safety and security of our food supply in Scotland, and contributes to the quality of our environment.

The work of SASA biologists and chemists is aimed at

Ensuring the quality of seeds and tubers for planting, and new crop varieties;
Keeping field and horticultural crops free of damaging diseases;
keeping serious pests of plants out of the UK and Scotland;
Acting as the Scottish Government's Inspectorate of genetically-modified crops;
Developing new and more sensitive diagnostic tests for pests and diseases;
Preserving and maintaining a wide range of historic, heritage and other varieties of potatoes, cereals, peas and brassicas;
Monitoring the pesticide load in our diet, and the pattern of use of pesticides in Scotland;
Protecting wildlife against deliberate or accidental poisoning
Understanding the ecology of important vertebrate species (e.g. rabbits, foxes, geese).

SASA staff members are civil servants, doing their scientific work in relation to devolved matters for Scottish Government ministers, and for the good of people in Scotland. These web pages give details of what we do, including seed testing, crop certification, disease diagnosis, chemical analysis, surveys, training and other services that are available to commercial organisations and individuals. As the emphasis is on quality, an increasing proportion of our work is done by teams that are formally accredited under UKAS schemes.

The contacts for each area of activity can be found on the appropriate webpages.

SASA
Roddinglaw Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9FJ

Tel: +44 (0) 131 244 8890
Fax: +44 (0) 131 244 8940

info@sasa.gsi.gov.uk

Scottish Government website

Scottish Parliament website

Disclaimer
The Scottish Agricultural Science Agency seeks to ensure that the information published on its Internet site is up to date and accurate. However, the information on the site does not constitute legal or professional advice and the Agency cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use. The Agency cannot be held responsible for the contents of any pages referenced by an external link.
SASA 2007