Horticultural research and development must find new funding streams urgently or it will disappear.

This was the stark warning from the long-awaited National Horticultural Forum (NHF) report: A Review of the Provision of UK Horticultural R&D, prepared by Dr Brian Jamieson and published last week.

The 92-page report found that mechanisms for funding research in the UK are breaking down and the impact of DEFRA science policies focusing on the environment and climate change, rather than production, are now being felt.

Jamieson argues in the report that a significant gap now exists in funding for the basic and strategic studies on which near-market research, funded through the levy system, builds. He also found that staff retention and succession planning, as well as capital investment and replacement of existing facilities, are all causes for concern.

“The report is quite stark,” Jamieson told freshinfo. “New attitudes need to be developed quickly and partnerships are needed between the institutions and new funders from the industry or regional development agencies. There has got to be a change from a dependency culture to a more entrepreneurial culture.”

The report identifies the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board as an opportunity for R&D in the sector. It also suggests stronger interaction along the fresh produce supply chain through an agri-food innovation platform, under the Technology Strategy Board.

The report has been welcomed by Dr Andrew Colquhoun, chairman of the NHF. “The announcement in mid-August of the closure of the Kirton Research Centre only serves to emphasise the seriousness of the situation for horticulture,” he said. “The Jamieson report provides us with an excellent basis for discussion on the way forward.”

Colquhoun said the report has been sent to ministers as well as officials at DEFRA and they will be followed up over the coming weeks. “I hope we will be able to engage the interest of DEFRA and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC),” he added. “The Horticultural Development Company is doing a good job with near-market research, but it cannot operate indefinitely without the basic and strategic research underpinning it that DEFRA and the BBSRC need to find ways to support.”

Graham Ward, director of the Stockbridge Technology Centre, praised the report as a “very comprehensive review”. He said: “It is a good piece of work - very necessary. It challenges growers by saying ‘these are the problems; think about them or there will be no R&D capacity for the future’. Yes, partnerships are good, but they will only work if they are oiled by money and that is laid out pretty starkly.”

The report will be presented to the research community on September 16, at the NHF R&D providers’ group annual meeting.

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