Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) research strategy 2027-2032: consultation

1.0 Overview

The Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) Research Programme is a multidisciplinary portfolio of research. It is structured in five-year cycles to enable long-term strategic research and provide clarity on research priorities and programme structure. This strategy outlines the approach for the next cycle, covering the period 2027–2032.

This is a draft version of the ENRA Strategy prepared for public consultation. The questions that we would specifically like answered and preferred means of response are detailed in Section 6.

The programme covers a broad range of issues critical to Scotland’s environmental and agricultural futures including:

• Regenerative and sustainable agriculture
• Optimising Scotland’s land-use for multiple objectives
• Protecting soils (including peatland)
• Plant and animal health
• Sustainable food systems
• Circular economy
• Reforming Scotland’s land system
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation in ENRA
• Nature loss and biodiversity

Therefore, the programme directly supports Scotland’s commitment to addressing global challenges such as the climate and biodiversity crises. The research contributes to key sectors like agriculture, food production, and land management, helping Scotland build a sustainable and resilient economy. The ENRA research programme also maintains strong links to other areas of related research within Scottish Government, including within the health and marine topics.

The Scottish Government's vision for the research programme is:

“To support research that is relevant, respected and responsive to Scotland’s environment, communities, its people and to the rural economy”

This Strategy sets out how we will achieve this vision. It highlights our research priorities, how we expect our research to achieve impact, the mechanisms we will use to fund research, and the governance structures which will be used during the next cycle from 2027-2032.

Research in the next programme will be delivered through five core Missions aligned with key Scottish Government priorities and specifying the outcomes our research will target:

1. Delivering sustainable and regenerative agriculture and food systems

2. Delivering climate-positive and resilient landscapes

3. Restoring nature and protecting our environment

4. Enhancing rural and island communities

5. Building the circular economy

Underpinning these Missions are a series of more specific Challenges, and further detailed Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). ARIs highlight policy topics where further research is needed to address Challenges.

The ENRA Research Strategy 2027–2032 will adopt an outcome-driven, whole- system approach to deliver impact, defined as the real-world difference research makes — changing lives, shaping policy, strengthening the economy, improving the environment, and enhancing health and wellbeing. To increase the impact of research, we use a ‘theory of change’ approach to support delivery of:

• well targeted and designed policy interventions assisted by decision support tools, robust data and models,
• wider and deeper uptake of good practice across agricultural, rural and island sectors,
• enhanced readiness and delivery of new technologies and processes to improve economic and environmental outcomes.

The development of the strategy has been informed by the recommendations of the ENRA Research Portfolio Board (RPB)^[1], ENRA Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)² and the First Minister’s Environment Council. These recommendations are summarised below:

• Priority Research Needs: Funding must reflect the future priority evidence needs of the Scottish Government.
• Systems Thinking: Research should support interdisciplinary working and recognise the interconnectedness of key challenges. SAB recommended mechanisms should be adopted to support cross-programme working and that the connection between policy and research projects should be made clearer.
• Maximising Impact: Funding must maximise the impact for research including supporting business innovation, facilitating adoption of good practice and providing evidence-based communication and decision support systems for policy. SAB recommended that the programme should develop a formal Impact Strategy and utilise ‘Living Labs’ to link science and policy to practitioners.
• Increase Value: The programme should maximise value by increasing collaboration with public and private stakeholders and other funders.
• Supporting Scotland’s Research Sector: the programme should continue to underpin central elements of Scotland’s wider agri-environment and biotech sectors, and support Scotland’s leading expertise while encouraging research providers to diversify their income.

² The ENRA Science Advisory Board (SAB) provides independent challenge and scrutiny of the research delivered through the programme

• Flexibility and Responsiveness: The programme must be responsive to changing policy priorities in the delivery of its strategic research.
• Data Practices: Promoting data reliability and standardisation across the programme.

1.1 Research Purpose

The ENRA research programme will continue to support Scotland’s national capacity to:

1. Provide the evidence and advice needed to deliver on the government’s key priorities. It is the central source of research to inform the government’s approach to key areas including Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Nature Restoration, Agriculture and Land Management. For example, the work undertaken in the programme has been critical to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from degraded peatland and developing practical solutions to reducing emissions from Scottish agriculture.

2. Deliver applied solutions to real world challenges with direct benefits to industry and wider society. This includes funding the development of prototype vaccines and diagnostic tests for animal diseases and supporting the development of new varieties of fruit, barley and potatoes that are resilient to changing climatic conditions and diseases. These investments are key to longer term food security, and positive climate and environmental outcomes.

3. Underpin Scotland’s wider agri-tech and bio-tech sectors. In 2023 a report³ detailing the economic impact of the 2016-2021 Research Programme found that the programme supported around 1,900 research jobs in Scotland directly and indirectly. It also provides a platform to allow Scottish institutes to secure additional funding from other UK and international funders. In 2023-24, £39 million of external income was leveraged because of the programme. It has also supported the creation of spinout companies and wider commercialisation activity in new sectors such as indoor vertical farming.

To achieve these outcomes the investment made by the programme is directed through a variety of routes:

• Long-term research with strategic objectives defined by Missions, Challenges and ARIs. This is delivered through our Strategic Research Programme and associated investment in Underpinning National Capacity.

³ 2016-22 Rural Affairs Food and Environment Research Programme Evaluation

• Short-term research on more applied problems. This includes through the Responsive Research Fund which supports new research needs which emerge during the programme.
• Expert advice and opinion. This is primarily delivered through our Centres of Expertise which provide specialist advice on subjects where demand is highest.
• Knowledge exchange with stakeholders, including co-construction of new research and delivery of innovations.

We will maintain these funding routes in our next programme cycle but will review individual elements to ensure that the impact of our investment is maximised. This is set out further in Section 5.

During the current research cycle, funding was used to support research at our Main Research Providers (MRPs)^[2], a group of Scottish research organisations with specialist expertise in areas directly relevant to the research programme. The MRPs have developed a collective identity as SEFARI (Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes). These institutes will remain the primary route through which research undertaken by the programme is delivered.

Case Study - Hemp contributing to net zero, nutrition and food security

Hemp has significant potential to support both net zero goals and food security, due to its versatility as a crop, relatively low environmental impact and ability to absorb comparatively large amounts of carbon.

ENRA-funded research at the Rowett Institute has shown that hemp can be successfully grown in Scotland, producing a nutritionally rich seed high in oil and protein. This opens new business opportunities for farmers and the food industry by offering a sustainable alternative to soya-based feed and expanding the range of domestic crops.

Hemp-based ingredients have been incorporated into staple foods, enhancing dietary protein, fibre, and essential nutrients. Notably, hemp cake—a by-product of oil extraction—has been used to replace soya in poultry feed, resulting in nutritionally superior eggs and a lower-carbon supply chain. ENRA-funded work has also shown hemp’s value in diversifying agriculture, improving public health, and contributing to net zero. With its ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, hemp oil, along with its co- products like hemp cake and oil fudge, can be used in a variety of food products, including breads, milk alternatives, patties, and sausages, making it a versatile and sustainable option for Scotland.

1.2 Research & Economic Impact

The Scottish Government's ENRA research programme plays a key role in ensuring that scientific data and evidence is embedded within policy development across government. However, the impact of the programme is far wider.

An evaluation conducted in 2023 found that the research programme delivers significant economic benefits, with the 2016–2022 programme estimated to have generated between £470 million and £680 million in economic impact^[3]. This means that for every pound invested Scotland sees a positive return of £2.40. This impact is from a variety of factors, including the economic return on public research, job creation, income generated from spinout companies and intellectual property, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and various social benefits.

The evaluation also found examples of commercial, community and scientific benefits. For example, a range of innovation pathways have been developed due to the ability to leverage funding from the ENRA Research Programme:

• The James Hutton Institute (JHI) campus at Invergowrie hosts Intelligent Growth Solutions. This is Scotland’s first indoor vertical farm at a commercial scale which builds on ENRA research to address the key challenges facing the indoor farming industry.
• SRUC's Barony Campus hosts the Dairy Nexus, a hub to drive innovation in the UK dairy industry, focusing on sustainability and productivity. This includes research and development around the biorefining of manure, grass, and milk to create new revenue streams for dairy farmers.
• The Moredun Research Institute developed Barbervax® to treat Barber’s Pole worm, a significant roundworm parasite of sheep and goats in the world. Barbervax® is manufactured in Australia by Wormvax, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Moredun, with net profits flowing back to Scotland where they are used to support further research into reducing livestock disease.

Case study - Providing insights into the impacts of climate change on Scotland's natural capital

Scotland’s natural capital – its land, water, plants and wildlife – plays a vital role in the economy, supporting around £40 billion of economic output and 261,000 jobs. That is more than 14% of the country’s total economic activity. Given this, it is crucial to understand how climate change could affect our natural resources in the future.

Research funded by the ENRA research programme and carried out by the James Hutton Institute has used detailed climate projections to quantify these impacts. The findings show a likely shift from having plenty of water to experiencing water shortages during late summer and early autumn. The research has then identified how this change will affect different landscapes, especially farmland, grassland and broadleaf woodland.

Hotter, drier conditions are also expected to increase the risk of wildfires, which could further damage nature and reduce the benefits we get from it. While some crops might grow better if spring rainfall is good, in general, yields are expected to fall—particularly in areas where soils are poor or cannot hold much water.

These insights have shaped Scotland’s latest climate adaptation plan and improved understanding of the risks to nature restoration. The research has also reached the public through national TV, radio and newspapers, helping raise awareness of how climate change could affect our natural environment.