UK farmer and grower research priorities

Abstract

Farmers and growers in the UK are facing rapid changes in policy and trade on top of the emerging pressures relating to climate, nature and public health. There is a need for strategic engagement to ensure that their needs influence UK research and innovation priorities. To address this gap, a group of farming and research organisations have collaborated to understand research and innovation priorities for farmers and growers across the UK. Insights were gathered from 92 farmers and growers, representing all major agricultural sectors across a wide diversity of farming systems, at 12 semi-structured workshops. There are also insights from businesses upstream and downstream of agriculture, as well as from environmental and other organisations that influence the industry’s direction. What we found: • The overarching themes highlighted by farmers and growers in a previous process, in 2013, remain topical today. • The specific priorities within those themes, however, have shifted, particularly with respect to precision agriculture, and training and communications. • The most common priorities were around ‘how’ research and farming is done, rather than ‘what’ it does, with adoption, farmer-led research, and future skills mentioned most often. • The farmers and growers we spoke with are interested in sustainable agriculture, including regenerative farming. In particular, they are interested in understanding socio-economic barriers to sustainable practices and the value of environmentally sustainable farming. • Farmers also raised challenges associated with adapting to new regulations, climate change and public perception. • Agricultural research conducted by universities has limited overlap with the priorities highlighted by farmers and growers. What this means: The differences that this project highlights between the priorities of farmers and growers, and those of researchers and funders, imply there is potential to: • Engage farmers and growers more in innovation that reaches beyond the farm gate, relating to nutrition, waste and circularity, food systems and supply chain development. • Involve farmers and growers more in the development, design and delivery of research, enabling dialogue about priorities in the shorter and longer term, and enhancing the practical relevance of research. • Integrate the social sciences through greater emphasis on interdisciplinary research, given how focused farmers and growers are on questions of adoption, accessibility and impact