A series of reports is to map public funding for agricultural research to help identify how the UK can strengthen farm profitability, food security and resilience while preparing agriculture for the challenges of decades ahead.
The State of Agricultural Research & Innovation reports will analyse £1.2 billion of public funding for agricultural research between 2022 and 2026 and compare investment with the priorities of more than 600 survey respondents, including more than 300 farmers, alongside interviews and workshops.
Produced by Ag.Impact, the first report finds strong agreement across farmers, researchers and other stakeholders for research to address real farming challenges, have practical applications and involve farmers and growers from the outset. For most farmers surveyed, profitable farming is the top priority.
Professor Tom MacMillan, chief executive of Ag.Impact, said: “Research must help farming respond to today’s pressures and prepare for the challenges ahead. Farmers and researchers are telling us they want work to answer real questions, grounded in what happens on farms and producing evidence they can use.
“This report gives us a clearer picture of where funding is going and how this compares with what people say is needed. There are strong foundations to build on, and we can see where changes could make research more beneficial to farming, anticipate future needs and deliver greater public value.”
The findings emphasise the UK’s strengths in foundational science and the applied research capabilities retained by specialist institutes and agricultural universities.
The report highlights the importance of how sustained research can help futureproof agriculture, such as Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) continued work on grasses and legumes.
Defra’s ADOPT programme of funding, delivered by Innovate UK through the Farming Innovation Programme, enables groups of farmers to test their own ideas on farm, with research support and results shared to benefit others. But such projects requires stable partnerships, staged funding and clear routes from early science to commercial use.
But the report also finds interdisciplinary and cross-cutting projects account for only around 7% of the funding analysed. It identifies scope for greater coordination across funders, research organisations and the UK’s four nations, with farmers and other stakeholders actively involved in shaping priorities.
It recommends building on existing progress through more accessible farmer-centred research programmes, regular foresight into emerging challenges and reliable long-term funding pathways. Strategic investment in research infrastructure is also needed, including farm networks, skills and data-sharing, alongside specialist facilities and long-term experiments.
Professor MacMillan added: “ADOPT shows the sector can rise to the challenge of putting farmers at the centre of research. Alongside this practical work, we need sustained investment in programmes preparing for the future, where decisions made today will shape the options available to farmers decades from now.
“Better coordination helps organisations share plans, avoid unnecessary duplication and make more of the expertise and resources we already have. We want this evidence to be a useful tool for funders as they decide what to support next.”
The report and an interactive dashboard are available at www.ag-impact.org/sari.
