The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has given the agriculture industry a boost after it announced £250 million of funding for training new scientists last week.

The NFU said science and technology is vital to agriculture and the government must ensure it benefits from the new funding and initiatives.

Meanwhile, the government has published its first annual innovation report, which highlights a programme to ensure UK businesses benefit from research findings to enable them to access new markets.

NFU vice-president Paul Temple said: “The government is clearly convinced that science and innovation are vital for the health of the UK economy and its long- term prosperity and are worth spending money on.

“But it is essential that any initiatives and commitments like these include agricultural businesses, the rural economy, and markets for agricultural and horticultural products.

“The commitment of £250 million for training new scientists from the EPSRC shows money is available to ensure the UK is a leading science-based economy in the future. But there is an extremely worrying lack of new blood in the scientific skills and expertise vital to agriculture, particularly people who can translate basic science into application on the ground,” said Temple.