Mapping a Green Growth Strategy for UK Horticulture: From Sustainable Production to the Circular Bioeconomy

UK horticulture is entering a period of significant transition. The sector faces increasing pressures from climate change, labour availability, rising input costs, environmental regulation, and supply chain disruption. At the same time, horticulture is uniquely positioned to contribute to national priorities around food security, net-zero delivery, circular economy development, and regional economic growth. This report explores how UK horticulture can move beyond short-term adaptation and position itself as a strategic contributor within a connected, innovation-led economy.

This Nuffield Farming Scholarship study began in early 2020 with the intention of undertaking extensive international travel to explore how horticultural systems were responding to sustainability, innovation, and resource efficiency challenges. Shortly after travel commenced, the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruption and the suspension of physical travel. Whilst challenging, this created an opportunity to engage with a broader range of stakeholders through extended online interviews. The combination of early travel experiences and prolonged virtual engagement provided valuable insight into how horticulture responds to uncertainty and systemic disruption.

This study demonstrates that many of the challenges facing horticulture are not isolated or purely technical. Instead, they are systemic, arising from linear production models, fragmented innovation support, and short-term funding structures that are poorly aligned with the biological and commercial realities of the sector. Across multiple international contexts, successful innovation was consistently associated with strong collaboration between growers, researchers, and industry partners, supported by well-funded innovation ecosystems.

A central conclusion of this report is that innovation in horticulture does not fail due to a lack of ideas or ambition. Rather, it falters where there is insufficient long-term support to enable collaboration, build capability, develop new supply chains, and take innovations through to commercial scale. This challenge is particularly acute for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, which often struggle to bridge the gap between proof of concept and market adoption.

The report highlights the circular bioeconomy and materials innovation as major strategic opportunities for UK horticulture. Horticultural systems can play an important role not only as producers of food, but also as suppliers of renewable biomass, enablers of bio-based materials, and participants in circular supply chains. Opportunities include sustainable packaging, waste valorisation, renewable energy integration, and plant-based product development. Realising these opportunities requires integration between horticulture and wider innovation systems, rather than isolated, farm-level solutions.

In conclusion, this report argues that UK horticulture requires a shift towards long-term (10+ year) innovation funding models that support ecosystem building and collaboration. With the right structures in place, horticulture can move from responding to external pressures to actively shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and innovative future for the UK.