The Project

A person holding an assortment of vegetables
Waitrose Sustainable Agriculture
The Project
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The Waitrose Agronomy Group acted as a link between the Agri-science community and players in the UK food supply chain, communicating research requirements based on, among other things, the data from the Waitrose Farm Assessment.

We believe this is an accurate and powerful way of responding to growers’ needs. In addition, novel research developments in the broad area of sustainable agriculture are communicated to the supply chain through the website and through Waitrose Innovation Conferences organised on a regular basis.

Conferences and our online dissemination infrastructure ensured that new research (our own and that undertaken by groups around the world) is given the best possible exposure within the supply chain. To deliver increased sustainability, neither the supply chain nor the research community working in isolation can maximise impact and our approach to R and D was therefore designed to maximise interaction with all those who can have a positive impact in this area. The majority of our research was focused under ‘five pillars’ defined by the Waitrose Agronomy Group Research Strategy:

  • Soils
  • Water
  • Biodiversity
  • Inputs
  • Waste

The ultimate goal of the CTP was to produce more good quality food, with the highest level of integrity and the lightest environmental farm footprint.

  • Biodiversity

  • Energy and Carbon

  • Food Waste

  • Integrated Pest Management

  • Soil and Crop Nutrition

  • Water Usage

  • Savid Organic Bananas

Collaborating Researchers

The value added by collaborative working between researchers and the supply chain has been highlighted across many areas of the website.

The Waitrose Supply Chain benefits from collaboration with prominent researchers in their respective fields both in the UK and beyond. Some of this research has already been highly influential in changing agricultural practice for the better, while other collaborating groups work in areas which may be more effectively described in non-food terms, e.g. ecology or engineering. In these and other areas we are profiting from the innovative exploitation of new thinking and technologies previously unavailable to the food supply chain.

  • Lancaster University

    Lancaster University houses a community of world-class environmental researchers, students, government scientists and businesses working to address today’s biggest environmental challenges.

  • University of Reading

    The University of Reading undertakes research focussing on real-world issues affecting society both in the present and in the future.

  • University of Warwick

    The University of Warwick provides world-class science expertise and specialist facilities for research on fresh produce.

  • University of East Anglia

    For 50 years, UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences has been at the forefront of crucial environmental research that will shape the future of our world.

  • NIAB

    The National Institute of Agricultural Botany is a pioneering plant science organisation based at the heart of the Cambridge science, technology and university communities and a thriving UK agricultural industry.

  • Rothamsted Research

    Rothamsted Research work with Waitrose and the Waitrose Agronomy group to explore ways of increasing crop yields by improving levels of organic matter in the soil.

  • University of Worcester

    The University of Worcester is the fastest growing University in the UK, with student applications rising seven times faster than the national average.

  • East Malling Research

    East Malling Research is a major organisation in the UK for research on horticultural crops and plants and their interactions with the environment. EMR research on perennial fruit crops is known internationally.

Research Themes

Research in the Waitrose CTP was offered under three interrelated research themes: Sustainable Crop Production, Sustainable Soil and Water and Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services in Agriculture.

Sustainable Crop Production

Sustainable Crop Production aims to support the use of cutting-edge science in maximising crop productivity whilst minimising environmental impact. Our focus is on crop production up to the point of harvest.

Sustainable Soil and Water

Sustainable Soil and Water resources represent a major challenge in providing a sustainable food production system. Diffuse pollution from agriculture costs the UK economy £238 million per year and with future predictions for increased water shortages in parts of the UK under a changing climate it is important that these issues are addressed.

Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services in Agriculture

Long-term sustainable production systems require a commitment to maintain biodiversity since it acts as a balance against modern monoculture crop production and safeguards the multi-functional landscape which supports delivery of all ecosystem services. All food production is both underpinned and supported by ecosystem services including water quality, water regulation and pollination and this, often-ignored, landscape component is critical to maintaining crop and food production. Our research will take an interdisciplinary approach to address how the value of these services affects policy and farmer decision-making and how these, in turn, drive land-use choices.