NUCNet: the Novel and Underutilised Crop Network

Climate change could cost the UK billions annually, in part because of its effect on agriculture. For example, the record-setting wet winter in 2023-24 is expected to cost UK farmers nearly £1 billion. Diversifying current farm practices is necessary for the UK to continue to grow nutritious food in a changing climate, without degrading biodiversity and being resilient to global shocks (Azam-Ali et al. 2024; Poppy and Baverstock 2019). Utilising novel and underutilised crops (NUCs) is one underexplored route to diversification. NUCs are those currently rarely grown in the UK, but with great potential as an alternative food source. Identifying and overcoming barriers to their incorporation into the food system requires an extensive interdisciplinary team, which brings together representatives across the entire food system, from farmers, breeders, processors and retailers, via science to communities, ensuring the approaches explored present multiple best-net benefits for all involved, as well as the environment. This is the mission for NUCNet, the ‘Novel and Underutilised Crop Network’. Initiation of NUCNet is timely. Defra/NIAB (2022) consulted with farmers and producers to shortlist approximately 30 NUCs that have potential grow successfully in the UK, including chickpeas, buckwheat, hemp, and sunflower. The consultation also identified research gaps, including absence of routes to market and consumer interest. These were discussed in a BBSRC meeting in 2023, but the field has failed to rise to this challenge and NUCs remain poorly studied. NUCNet will fill these gaps, and whilst doing so, ensure that processors and consumers are involved, and their priorities accounted for. The goals of NUCNet are to: (1) galvanise and connect the NUC research community with producers and diverse communities across the UK, generating an inclusive interdisciplinary network of expertise. (2) identify barriers and opportunities for incorporation of NUCs into the UK food system. (3) pump-prime small research projects and support teams to develop capacity leading to larger bids, adding value to the network and the BBSRC investment. (4) develop relationships between the network and community groups to allow knowledge exchange and to influence society and policy. Our core team has the wide-ranging expertise and links with stakeholders necessary to ensure realisation of NUCNet’s goals and delivery of impact, comprising a greater evidence base and knowledge exchange with schools and communities. Dedicated project-specific input will ensure outcomes deliver policy-related impact. To achieve our goals, we will invite all relevant stakeholders across the UK to join NUCNet, building a searchable database of expertise, facilities, projects, and data, with links to publications, webpages, and upcoming opportunities. Through meetings, focus groups, systematic reviews, targeted research, and open research calls, including for community engagement, we will identify the evidence needed to provide system level change to the UK food system. The network will become self-sustaining, leading to further research bids and an expansion in expertise, influencing the trajectory of UK research. As the first of its kind, NUCNet will serve as a model for other nations to adopt. The network will support the future diversification and resilience of UK cropping systems, delivering a stronger agricultural sector and related economy. Ultimately, our network will help drive the vision of the BBSRC leading to a healthy, prosperous, sustainable future. Through investment in the network, the BBSRC is investing in a community of individuals, together advancing bioscience and the economic and societal benefits.