19 February 2026
Newsletter
Newsletter – February 2026
This is our newsletter for February 2026. Please note that this page is not updated, so deadlines may have passed and links may no longer work. To receive future newsletters, please join our network.
Webinar: From Risk to Resilience – What climate change could cost the UK food system
Thursday 26th February 2026, 1:00–2:00pm
Climate change, geopolitics and the current economic system are already driving up the cost of food, but by how much, and where are we most exposed? A landmark climate risk assessment from IGD has modelled ten key commodities under three climate scenarios to 2050 and put a figure on it: up to £2.6 billion in additional costs under a business-as-usual pathway. Join us for the opportunity to ask questions & to hear more on this from Matthew Stoughton-Harris (Head of Resilience at IGD)
Save the Date: Building Partnerships for the National Lottery Climate Action Fund – Food Systems
Thursday 12 March, 1:00–1:55pm, online
The National Lottery Community Fund has launched a major new funding opportunity to strengthen food systems and reduce food insecurity, with grants of over £2.5 million over 3-7 years. They are looking to fund partnerships that take agroecological approaches and drive systems change in how food is grown and produced, how it’s distributed, and how people and communities access healthy, affordable food.
A key feature of this call is the emphasis on partnerships across the food system, particularly at community and local level. We’ve already heard from several AFN Members who are keen to find collaborators, so we’re putting on a virtual networking session to help make those connections happen.
If you’re involved in work that aligns with the kind of food system transformation this fund is supporting, this is a chance to meet potential partners from across the UK.
This is a save the date. We’ll send out a full invitation with more details shortly.
Find out more about the funding opportunity
FlexFund Findings: Community helps farm pinpoint biodiversity value of hedgerows
Combining nature recovery, sustainable farming and community engagement, a project at Slade Farm Organics, with funding from AFN Network+, has explored how hedgerow management contributes to biodiversity and nature resilience. Farmer Polly Davies, based in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, used funding to design and carry out two public hedgerow survey days on the farm, attended by 29 local residents, amateur naturalists and families. Results found that recently coppiced and laid hedgerows showed the greatest biodiversity, with a broad mix of species, and highlights how proactive, rotational hedgerow management is key to habitat diversity and resilience. The approach helped raise awareness of nature-friendly farming in the local community, and is a simple, yet valuable, model to replicate across other farms as biodiversity decisions continue to shape land use decisions.
Impact profile: Steven Jacobs
The latest in our series of impact profiles features Steven Jacobs, Coordinator for the Organic Growers Alliance & chair of the UK Fruit & Vegetable Coalition, who has worked in organic farming and community food growing for over 30 years.
“We’re now being told we have breached 1.5 degrees of warming, and even if we switch off all the fossil fuels today, we will probably hit 2.5 or 3 degrees of warming by 2050. That’s the reality that we need to face up to, but we need to do it in a way that means we can face up to it. If it’s just too frightening, people will run away. But it has to have some hard truths in there, and help people find measured and focused solutions to move forwards.”
Latest Digests:
Pathways to crisis: new research on UK food system vulnerability: New peer-reviewed research led by AFN’s Sarah Bridle, drawing on insights from across policy, business, academia and civil society, examines how acute shocks could combine with existing vulnerabilities to produce a food system crisis.
National Security Assessment: Defra has quietly published what should be one of the most significant reports on UK food security in years: a national security assessment of global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse.
UK Covid-19 Inquiry 2nd report: This landed last month and buried in the detail is something that should concern anyone working on food system transformation: a damning account of why cross-government action on complex problems is so hard to deliver.
Read our thoughts on why it matters for food
News from the wider agri-food sector
Events:
Welcoming New Parents to the Workplace – A Fireside Chat
Monday 9 March 2026, 12:45–1:45pm
Organised by AFN Network+ co-lead Angelina Sanderson Bellamy on behalf of the LUNZ Hub, this virtual fireside chat will explore how workplaces across land use, agrifood and research can better support new parents returning to work. Psychotherapist Marie Derome will facilitate a conversation with parents Sareta Puri (Sustain), Flavian Obeiro (council farm tenant, Hampshire) and Olivia James (farmer currently on hiatus from the land), sharing real-life experiences and practical advice for building more inclusive workplace cultures. There’ll be time for Q&A too.
AgriFood Innovation Showcase 2026: Regenerative agriculture and agri-tech for a sustainable food system
Thursday 26 March 9am-4pm – Birmingham
This event will foster cross-sector collaboration, bringing together a diverse community of agrifood and agri-tech experts to exchange ideas, forge strategic partnerships, and explore innovation opportunities. Companies and innovators will showcase their pioneering products and technologies, providing attendees the chance to connect with key players in the industry, investors, and potential future partners who are looking to explore and adopt innovation.
Your views needed:
Have your say on the state of agricultural research and innovation
The UK spends millions each year on agricultural research, but there is currently no overall picture of where that money is going, or how well it fits with anyone’s priorities. The State of Agricultural Research and Innovation (SARI) will address this with the most comprehensive analysis to date.
To be published later this year, SARI is being run by an independent team from Ag.Impact, led by Professor Tom Macmillan, and working with the main UK agricultural research organisations and public funders.
Right now, it’s time to have your say. The SARI survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete, is anonymous, and is an opportunity to share your views on where research effort should be focused.
Deadline for responses: 27 March
You can find the survey at this link
Funding:
BBSRC/DEFRA notification of intent – Diet and Health: collaborative research and development grants
This joint funding opportunity aims to build and strengthen partnerships between academia and industry, and to enable the co-development of collaborative research and development projects for novel food products and innovations that deliver healthy, sustainable, and resilient diets for the UK population.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £800,000. BBSRC and Defra will fund 80% of the FEC.
Deadline for notification of intent: 3 March
Innovate UK – Advanced manufacturing supply chain innovation FS
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £5 million into supply chain innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.
The aim of this competition is to support feasibility studies to explore new ways of making supply chains more resource efficient and resilient.
This will be achieved by addressing cross cutting challenges faced by the six Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors and the Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries in scope.
Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £50,000 and £100,000.
Deadline: 11 March
BBSRC – Shaping the future of animal health and welfare
Apply for funding to advance sustainable, resilient, and ethically responsible livestock and aquaculture systems across Europe.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding. BBSRC will fund the UK parts of international collaborative projects in animal welfare and prevention and control. Your application must include a UK team and at least two eligible partners from at least two different member country co-funders. Partner research organisations will be funded by corresponding national agencies.
Projects can cost up to £730,000 full economic cost, with BBSRC funding 80% for a duration of 36 months.
Deadline: 30 March
Resources:
Resource collection designed to help growers design and implement effective crop rotations in field-scale vegetable systems
Agricology has launched a new Technical Guide: Rotations for Field Vegetables, Mastering rotations for organic, agroecological and regenerative vegetable production.
Accompanying the guide is a how-to-video with Andy Dibben, Head Grower at Abbey Home farm. And a new Rotations Hub is live on the Agricology website, which brings together a curated collection of resources to support farmers and growers deepen their understanding of the subject.
Foresight for Food – MOOC and Practioners guide
Foresight4Food have set up a new Massive Open Online Course – ‘Introduction to Foresight for Food Systems Change’ 2026 . This self-paced course is a great introduction to learn how foresight and scenario analysis can support national food system transformation pathways. This course will provide you with an overview of key foresight approaches and food systems analysis.
Foresight4Food, LongView Consult and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) are launching a Practitioner’s Guide for facilitating, commissioning and monitoring quality foresight for food systems change with an introductory webinar on the 26th February
