A Knowledge Transfer Partnership
That ambition sits behind our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Waitrose – a partnership that pairs University researchers with a business to solve a real-world challenge, using the latest academic evidence. Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), it’s helping transform British farming by supporting more than 2,000 farmers as they transition to regenerative agriculture by 2030.
World-leading Expertise in Agriculture and Forestry
Ranked number 1 in the UK for Agriculture and Forestry in QS World Rankings 2026, Reading’s expertise spans soils, biodiversity and climate resilience. Through the KTP, we’re putting that expertise directly into farmers’ hands – testing and communicating practical pathways to regenerative farming, and closing the gap between cutting-edge research and what happens on the ground.
The Programme
This work sits at the heart of the Farming for Nature programme, which helps farming businesses adapt and thrive as the food system moves towards greater resilience and sustainability. Within it, our research is driving four areas of change:
- Healthier soil: We’re helping farmers transition to regenerative agriculture, improving soil health to make land more productive for the long term.
- Richer biodiversity: We’re driving techniques such as diverse cropping, restorative periods and the use of livestock to regenerate ecosystems, not just sustain them.
- Climate-ready land: We’re building farms’ resilience against the escalating challenges of a changing climate.
- A stronger system: We’re helping secure a financially sustainable future for British farmers, and a food supply that works in harmony with nature rather than against it.
Together with Waitrose, we’re already helping farmers build healthier soil, richer biodiversity and more resilient land – real progress towards a food system that works with nature. There’s more still to do as the partnership continues towards 2030, and we’re proud to be playing our part.
Led by Reading researchers and KTP team
The partnership is led by Professor Simon Potts, alongside Professor Martin Lukac, Professor Keiichi Nakata, Daisy Wood, and the wider University of Reading KTP team.