Proposals for supermarkets to get involved in research farms make perfect sense.

After all, if they are calling for the varieties of tomorrow and wanting them at the best prices, it is quite right that they put some of their money into helping that process come to fruition.

The berry sector has been held up as the perfect example of where private money for research has brought innovation, new product development and, ultimately, sales success. The investment in that case has come from suppliers themselves, but the point remains that those sectors able to put cash into research have been better able to adapt and progress.

We are increasingly seeing this sort of development taking place. Morrisons owns a trial farm, Sainsbury’s is involved in initiatives such as the Concept Orchards and Waitrose has a sustainability partnership with Aberystwyth University. The Co-operative, of course, is the nation’s biggest farmer.

In other areas of fresh food these sort of partnerships are more commonplace. Tesco recently launched a National Dairy Centre to help improve production techniques for its milk suppliers, while Asda operates its Link programme, which gives red meat suppliers assistance and discounts on key inputs. We could do with seeing more of these initiatives in fruit and veg.

It is highly unlikely that the government is suddenly going to find additional cash for research on top of what is already promised, so it is vital that all areas of the supply chain - including retailers - contribute to this key area.

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