SEFARI Fellowship to Analyse how Scotland’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System can Support a Just Transition to Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture - Final Report

SEFARIGateway and NatureScot, have commissioned research to study how Scotland’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) could support a just transition to sustainable and regenerative agriculture. 

Scotland has committed to becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture, with this ambition embedded in the Vision for Agriculture (2022), the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, and the Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture (2025). Achieving these goals requires an Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) capable of supporting land managers through complex, long term transitions under increasing climate, economic, environmental and regulatory pressures. This research investigates the capacity of AKIS Scotland to support a just transition, including recommendations for Tier 4 support framework. 

A literature review, an online survey, semi-structured interviews, case studies analysis, and five workshops
(three in person and two online) involving more than 120 participants from across Scotland and representing all type of AKIS actors were carried out to collect both qualitative and quantitative data.