Farmers will have a bigger role in agricultural research and development that works for them, thanks to a new academic centre.

The Centre for Effective Innovation in Agriculture (CEIA) will see Harper Adams University work alongside four other agricultural universities in the UK to address the gap between scientific research on innovation and real-life farming experience. The centre will focus on how research and development investment can best support innovation to be adopted by farmers.

With £1.5 million of charitable funding, including from the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust and from each University, the virtual centre will be run by experts in agricultural innovation research from Harper Adams University, the University of Reading, Royal Agricultural University (RAU), Newcastle University and the University of Warwick.

Professor James Lowenberg-DeBoer, Elizabeth Creak Chair of Agri-Tech Economics at Harper Adams, said: “The CEIA provides a key opportunity to bridge the gap between agricultural research and farmer.

“Since most agricultural technology is adopted only if it is profitable and practical for farmers, Harper Adams University and the Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics will play a key role helping technology developers and entrepreneurs understand farm business challenges, and help farmers to develop ways to make money using new technology.”