The Future of Orchard Fruit in the UK

• The UK is only 17% self-sufficient for all fruit, 40% for apples, and 20% for pears and plums, despite a favourable production climate^1,2 

• Only 25-30% of the UK population eat the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day, with knock-on implications for the nation’s health³ 

• Intensifying financial pressures are leading to farmers removing orchards, with a lack of financial risk sharing across the supply chain⁴ 

• The sector is under-prepared for climate change impacts, water stress, and nature depletion⁵; while the dramatic losses of ecologically-rich orchards since 1900 reduce their much-needed contributions to biodiversity⁶ 

• Dominant narratives about what needs to change are generally siloed and not commensurate with the scale, urgency and interconnected nature of the challenges. Coherent policy support is lacking. Despite the UK’s technical capabilities, there is little clarity or agreement on how to achieve increased production 

1. What are the challenges and opportunities to promote a thriving future UK orchard fruit sector, including for scaling regenerative and climate-resilient approaches? 

2. How might the industry meet these opportunities, and what is needed for this to succeed?

3. What action is needed to support positive social outcomes and ensure equity in the sector, as well as environmental outcomes? 

1. Understand the challenges and potential pathways for progress: In January and February we conducted collaborative mapping of the challenges, trends, barriers, and opportunities for scaling regenerative and climate-resilient approaches in orchard fruit production. You can see a summary of the mapping in the insight share out here. 

2. Showcase scalable solutions, innovations and best practices: Through the project we wanted to highlight and share examples of innovative and inspiring farm practice to value chain innovation through stories of change. Our report, The Future of UK Orchard Fruit, includes contributions from 13 magnificent story tellers and highlights the amazing work they are doing that contributes to the five visions.  
   

3. Generate recommendations and calls to action: Our report outlines recommendations aimed at industry, policymakers, civil society, and those who can enable sector transformation. You can find the recommendations on page 7 of the report with calls to action appearing throughout the report. 

4. Build the capacity of UK orchard fruit stakeholders to act and collaborate further for a regenerative transition: The stories we’ve shared highlight the immense diversity of actors, practices, needs, and solutions across the sector. Despite this diversity, it was clear there were key drivers for action that would support thriving orchards – jobs and skills; securing British supply; valuing the nature and biodiversity benefits of orchards; championing community orchard spaces and finding economic opportunities that support orchards, like fine cider making. Due to this diversity, catalysing broader change through the project was challenging. We hope the assets and films created can support the story for change and inspire actors to see the value in working together.  
   

5. Share insights about making change happen: In the second half of 2025, we’ll capture and share stories of change and positive impact resulting from the project and insights into how the change happened that could be useful for other sectors or challenges.

Explore the full report

The Future of UK Orchard Fruit

Developed through collaborative research that engaged over 150 stakeholders across the UK orchard sector, this report reveals insights into the challenges threatening the longevity of the UK’s orchards, and makes recommendations to help secure a thriving, climate-resilient future for top fruit supply chains.