Image of farm workforce smiling in the field

The nation’s farms and farm workers need to adopt new technologies to compete effectively in the global marketplace. This study has looked forward at the innovation horizon in agriculture and horticulture and investigated how the skills base and training provision in the UK is addressing the changing needs of farming into the future.

 

 

Previous work by Nye et al., (2023) showed that there currently exist both labour and skills shortages in the sector, a situation exacerbated by low training attainments. The current study shows that innovation, across the whole of agriculture, especially in digitalisation is already changing farm businesses, and it is anticipated that the pace of change will accelerate. This is likely to widen the training and skills gaps. We review how the provision of training is adapting, and how it needs to adapt further to support this important sector of the economy and our national food security.

This document is a summary of the full report, Review of research and innovation that will impact the English agricultural and horticultural workforce, 2025. The report was prepared for The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) by the University of Warwick.

Review of research and innovation that will impact the English agricultural and horticultural workforce - Executive summary4.97 MB

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