Synthetic Intelligence know-how to optimise welfare in pigs, agri-robots to assist velocity up vegetable harvests and automation to extend fruit crop yields are simply a few of analysis and improvement tasks to obtain funding by means of the Farming Innovation Programme.
Particulars of those new modern tasks comes as additional assist was introduced for farmers and growers with novel concepts to assist develop meals manufacturing, encourage sustainable practices and enhance productiveness, with the following rounds of the Feasibility Initiatives and the Small R&D Partnership Venture competitions attributable to open shortly.
The £16.5 million of funding will assist drive innovation in agriculture and horticulture and is a part of the Authorities’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme.
It’s run in partnership with UK Analysis and Innovation, constructing upon their profitable Reworking Meals Manufacturing problem.
Farming Innovation Minister Steve Double stated:
We wish to assist unlock larger potential in our already good farming and horticulture sector. Right this moment’s first spherical of tasks show how – with the precise funding and assist – there are nice productiveness and environmental sustainability good points to be made.
Our £270 million funding in farming innovation is designed to assist take the UK’s world-leading analysis concepts and switch them into sensible options to assist wholesome soils, ample pollinators and clear water alongside worthwhile meals manufacturing.
Katrina Hayter, problem director for the Reworking Meals Manufacturing problem, stated:
You solely want take a look at the sheer breadth of tasks which have obtained funding to see there are such a lot of alternatives for innovation throughout the meals sector. From animal well being to crop productiveness, the introduction of strategic assist know-how and the exact software of chemical substances, it’s thrilling to see so many ideas starting to return to life.
When introduced collectively, it exhibits how the entire meals system can profit from new concepts, with knowledge-sharing and collaboration at its core. We’re eager to make sure farmers and growers stay on the coronary heart of tasks, bringing their beneficial real-life experiences to the challenge consortia to make sure that every innovation stays centered on serving to enhance the day-to-day challenges confronted by these within the meals sector. We now sit up for supporting these tasks additional as they develop.
The Farming Innovation Programme goals to spark new concepts and collaboration throughout the sector to deal with long-term challenges resembling producing nutritious meals extra effectively while serving to the sector to scale back greenhouse fuel emissions to realize web zero targets. Farmers, growers, foresters, companies and researchers are being invited to collaborate and submit purposes for these two new competitions:
- A £5.5 million competitors for ‘Feasibility tasks’ will provide grants for tasks price between £200,000 and £500,000 to assist analysis and improvement by means of the tough testing section of an concept to see whether it is price investing in additional
- Winners of the ‘Small R&D Partnership’ competitors will obtain a share of the £11 million grant funding for industrial analysis tasks price between £1 million and £3 million to additional develop new options that can finally deal with main on-farm or speedy submit farmgate challenges or alternatives resembling enhancing productiveness and sustainability.
Particulars of the profitable purposes from the primary spherical of Small R&D Partnership Initiatives, Feasibility Initiatives and Analysis Starter Initiatives, that have been launched in October 2021 have been shared by UKRI at present. These embrace:
- Farmsense’s use of modern sensor know-how and AI to optimise welfare in pigs;
- Blue Planet II, a brand new challenge which goals to construct upon its extremely profitable autonomous know-how to additional enhance fruit crop yield and high quality;
- A brand new challenge from ‘Muddy Machines’, whose agri-robot ideas goal to hurry up vegetable harvesting with sustainability and reliability at their core.
Altogether Defra expects to spend round £600 million on grants and different assist for farmers to put money into productiveness, animal well being and welfare, innovation, analysis and improvement over the following three years.
