Stimulating innovation in the UK horticulture and potato supply chain to enable a sustainable, profitable and expanding industry through collaboration in research, development and knowledge exchange

THE HORTICULTURE INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP

THE HORTICULTURE INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP 1

INTRODUCTION

The establishment of the UK Horticulture Innovation Partnership (HIP) marks a significant step for the horticulture and potato industry. Stakeholders from the research and knowledge community join forces with those in the commercial supply chain to unlock potential for innovation and growth. Their common purpose is to identify the technological and commercial barriers which may prevent business development and to facilitate collaborative activities to address these. The HIP will provide an innovative ‘think tank’ to scope out a strategy to meet the technical requirements for the industry, and will also become a focal point of contact and conduit for the supply chain, supporting the development and exploitation of scientific opportunities for business and society.

HIP WORKSTREAMSThe partnership will implement three workstreams:

1. Funding innovationNavigating the funding landscape to increase innovative research and development

Funders will work together to maximise the resources available to support research and knowledge exchange essential to the industry. Mechanisms will be devised to overcome constraints impeding the flow of knowledge and technology from basic science to the supply chain.

2. Growing science Gateway to global science

Scientists and technologists will work with businesses to understand the technical needs of the supply chain and identify the scientific opportunities offered by multi-disciplinary research. A strong and well-networked science and technology community will build on international connections to add value and impact.

3. Improving businessIdentifying opportunities to grow UK horticulture

Businesses along the length of the industry supply chain from growers and retailers to manufacturers and food service providers will identify opportunities for innovation. A collaborative platform will facilitate exploitation of these opportunities and drive industry growth.

HIP, through technical innovation, offers the horticulture sector a great opportunity to drive sales, improve consumer satisfaction and business financial performance.”

Dr Gordon FlintWinchester Growers

2

BACKGROUND

A series of round table discussions on the future of UK horticulture, led by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir John Beddington informed the establishment of the Horticulture Innovation Partnership to support industry because:

• Horticulture and potatoes makes a vital contribution to the nation’s economy, jobs, food security, nutrition, health and well-being.

• To expand its UK and overseas markets, the industry needs continual innovation underpinned by basic and applied research, effective knowledge translation, consultancy and business support.

• Successive cutbacks in applied R&D funding over 30 years have reduced the ‘pull-through’ of fundamental research into commercial practice and weakened access to applied research.

• Commercial pressures have eroded margins and undermined industry confidence to invest in new production facilities and systems.

• The horticulture and potato industry accounts for farm gate sales of around £3.4 billion, employing 100,000 workers. Occupying 5% of the (non-grass) cropped land area it produces 40% of total farm gate crop sales.*

* Source: Defra (2011) and AHDB MI (2011)

The HIP will bring together a unique group of industry stakeholders from the whole supply chain, whose diverse skills and knowledge will create the potential to deliver a real impact for the UK horticultural industry and beyond.”

Rob JamesThanet Earth

THE HORTICULTURE INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP 3

THE ROLE OF HIP

The HIP will stimulate world-class innovation in the UK horticulture and potato industry to facilitate profitability, sustainability and expansion in the supply of products to consumers in the UK and for export.

The industry aims to drive growth of the supply chain by improving self sufficiency and business resilience through the uptake of innovation.

The partnership has a fundamental role to play in supporting innovation by:

• Achieving better returns on investment in research and development through a joined-up approach.

• Developing a clear vision for innovation which prioritises research needs and aligns them with funders’ policies and priorities.

• Establishing a stakeholder forum to articulate the skills, facilities and resources needed for innovation.

• Sharing knowledge of national and international research funding opportunities with the aim of securing a greater proportion of those funds.

• Facilitating a collaboration platform between funders, scientists, technologists, growers, suppliers and retailers to develop innovative solutions to challenges facing industry.

• Understanding the barriers to innovation and mechanisms to overcome them.

• Extending international networks to maximise the capture and effective exploitation of knowledge and technology developed elsewhere.

The lack of research effort is often not the issue with failure to drive changes in farming. The problem is frequently a lack of connection and communication between science and farming. The HIP is a great way to ensure a productive dialogue between the two.”

Dr Simon BowenProduce World

4

Growing ScienceResearch Institutes

UniversitiesResearch Organisations

Consultants

Funding InnovationResearch Councils

Government DepartmentsLevy Bodies

Improving BusinessGrowersPackers

Category ManagersIndustry & Trade Associations

Suppliers to GrowersFood Processors

Retailers

POLICY FRAMEWORK

THE HORTICULTURE INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP 5

OPERATION AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

The partnership will ensure that there is a more coherent approach to the coordination of funding for research on horticultural crops and potatoes and its translation into benefits for business and society.

The HIP will be led by a Steering Group comprising of growers, policy makers, research funders and providers, suppliers and retailers. It will deliver its ambitions through three workstreams and will establish working groups to allow partners to focus relevant expertise and resources on key areas of interest.

Initial priorities and objectives will be to:

• Confirm the remit, aims and priorities of the workstreams.

• Build wider industry engagement.

• Identify mechanisms to unlock the key commercial and technological barriers to the impact of innovation.

• Evaluate the constraints impeding the flow of knowledge and technology from basic science to the supply chain.

• Establish the HIP as the point of contact and conduit for information on funding and scientific opportunities.

• Evaluate opportunities for UK engagement in the EU framework and wider international funding.

Horticulture Innovation PartnershipBGA House, Nottingham Road,Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 0WB

T +44 (0)1507 353 799www.hip.org.uk

Twitter feed@HIP

Horticulture Innovation PartnershipWould like to thank all supportersand collaborators