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The future of agritech – An insight from Harrison Clark Rickerbys

11 August 2022
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In 2021 the government launched a new funding programme to support farmers, growers, foresters and other businesses developing AgriTech. As the name suggests, it is technology that assists the agricultural sector. The purpose of this technology is to improve efficiency and increase productivity and profitability.

This funding was awarded to projects that focus on productivity, enhancing environmental sustainability and helping the agricultural sector to reach net zero.

As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation, Jo Churchill said: “Innovation is vital to address the challenges facing the agricultural and horticultural sectors. New ideas, technologies and processes will play a key role in helping farmers, growers and businesses to become more productive.”

AgriTech before investment

Prior to this funding becoming available, Brexit and the pandemic had affected AgriTech productivity and according to Defra, agriculture was three-times less efficient than in other sectors of the UK economy. There is also a reluctance to adopt new technology because of the cost of investment required for setting it up, and confusion over the options available. The lack of internet connectivity in many rural areas would also have a big impact on the effectiveness of newly adopted tech, although infrastructure does seem to be improving. However, farmers are recognising the increased need to be progressive and to innovate; particularly with ongoing issues around recruiting seasonal workers and climate change.

That aside, there is plenty of positivity and excitement across the sector, with many new start-ups offering innovative, fresh and thought-provoking ideas and solutions on how to revolutionise farming processes. There are also lots of ideas coming from tech accelerator programmes which help to identify some of the common problems that farmers currently face and how to fix these. Some of these solutions include:

Breedr

Breedr is a farming app that helps with animal management. The idea was supported by a tech accelerator programme (Farm491) and raised £8million in investment to develop and launch the app.  Breedr can record data about each animal including the weight, growth monitoring and medical treatment mapping and logging. Breedr identified that one of the challenges in selling its product was that farmers were concerned that they wouldn’t have the technical ability be able to use the technology. To combat this, Breedr offers an introductory session to demonstrate how to use the product, boost confidence and also provide a printed manual. It is now so successful that it has launched in the USA.

Muddy Machines

Muddy Machines was initially supported by Entrepreneurs First (and then Innovate UK, BritBots and Angel Investors) and has developed an asparagus harvesting robot that uses AI and sensor technologies to harvest the crop for up to 16 hours a day. The robot, aptly named Sprout, is supported by an app that allows farmers to monitor the harvest performance. The business is now looking for investors to enable them to launch the product.

 Access to funding will lead to a brighter AgriTech future

The sector needs innovators, developers, coders, marketeers and nutritionists to keep up momentum and ensure that the thriving future of AgriTech remains on track. The National Farmers Union is now targeting farmers of the future – it is proactively visiting schools and community groups to highlight how exciting AgriTech can be, and to discuss all opportunities available to those that might want a career in the sector.

The future of AgriTech looks bright if the investment is available not only for start-ups, but also for the ongoing development of the product or business to get it trialled and launched to the sector. It is vital that farmers and developers know how to access much needed government funding, how much they could receive and who is available to help get their ideas off the runway.

Read more - Robots of the future under discussion at Oxford event


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