A new virtual centre will see five agricultural universities work together to address the gap between scientific research on innovation and real-life farming experience.
The Centre for Effective Innovation in Agriculture (CEIA) will look at how research and development investment can best support innovation to be adopted by farmers.
The centre will create practical guides for government and policy makers about effective agricultural research and how to target research funds effectively.
Although UK public spending on agri-tech R&D is around £300 million per annum, the adoption of research-led innovation has been described as 'patchy'.
Experts from University of Reading, Royal Agricultural University, Harper Adams University, Newcastle University and University of Warwick will run the centre.
Dr David Rose, of the University of Reading said: “Crucially, there is currently no dedicated initiative to target research funding where it will be most relevant on the ground.
“Farming needs to change fast to meet the challenges of our time, including tackling climate change, loss of biodiversity and food-related illness."
Prof Tom MacMillan, of the Royal Agricultural University, added that farmers and growers often innovated with 'scant support'.
"The UK’s main research funders are cottoning onto this, with Defra this week confirming its plans to invest in farmer-led innovation.
“This is great news but as farmers know all too well the devil will be in the detail – whether the funds are easy to access and exactly what they’ll cover."
The CEIA has received £1.5m of funding from the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust and from each participating university.
