Farmer research and innovation priority workshops.
This autumn, a group of farming and research organisations is teaming up in a bid to better understand the research and innovation priorities for farmers and growers across the UK.
The National Farmers Union (NFU), the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), and Innovative Farmers, among others, are hosting a series of workshops to ask farmers what research would be most useful to their business, now and in the long term. They will hear views from all major agricultural sectors, across a wide diversity of farming systems.
“It is so important that the voices of farmers and growers are heard when research strategies are developed. These are the people who will be turning scientific knowledge into practice in their businesses and they therefore play a key role in enabling Government funding to show a return on investment.”
Dr Helen Ferrier, Chief Science Advisor for the NFU, is part of the commissioning group for this work and will be hosting workshops.
Each of the groups hosting the workshops will send out invitations through their own networks but any farmers or growers who would like to participate can visit the website of the Centre for Effective Innovation in Agriculture (CEIA), which is coordinating the process, for a full list of workshops and to get in touch with the organisers directly.
The AUC are proud to support these workshops. When we published our joint research strategy setting out how we would work together to help address challenges facing farming, top of the list was working more with farmers and others at the sharp end, to understand their priorities and shape the research agenda.
"The AUC is pleased to be working alongside farmers, farming organisations, industry bodies, and research institutes on this important review. Only through sharing our combined knowledge and experience can we produce a comprehensive agenda for action. The findings of this work will be influential in shaping the future research strategies of AUC members and allow us to work with partners to deliver impactful research.”
Professor Simon Mortimer, University of Reading and AUC Chair
The findings from the workshops will help shape research and innovation priorities for the whole industry. AUC will use the outcomes, in the context of global goals for sustainable land use and food systems, to develop a shared list of priorities for researchers to focus their work on.