Innovative science designed to make the food system more socially, economically and environmentally resilient needs input from farmers and other co-producers (see, for example, H. Schnyder et al. Nature 571, 326; 2019 and C. Vera Nature 562, 9; 2018). In our experience, however, a growing reluctance to work with researchers is jeopardizing such joint initiatives.

There are several reasons for this. Farmers might already be saturated with research collaborations, or feel that these have been of little benefit to them. Scientists, for their part, do not always seem to appreciate the pressures farmers are under, and frequently fail to communicate research results to them. The declining share of the world’s population working in agriculture (see, for example, go.nature.com/2ffe7yb) is likely to make the situation worse.

One solution would be to make co-designed research processes more highly structured, while keeping them flexible and based on an equal footing. This could be achieved with the help of regional communication hubs in farming areas (see, for example, go.nature.com/2ii4dp3), along with education in co-design methods and their implementation.