The Government has announced £20 million to help fund ‘cutting-edge robots and technology' to help farmers ‘plant, tend and harvest crops', whilst ‘boosting yields and profits'.
Innovative agri-tech businesses can now bid for a share of £20 million to collaborate with researchers and farmers to develop the next generation of farm automation and robots.
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The Government said it hoped the cash boost will 'fast-track' the development of automated technology which can do everything from planting seeds to picking fruit, easing the pressure on farms that struggle to find enough seasonal workers at harvest time.
The Farming Minister, Stephen Morgan said the funding was a ‘vote of confidence in British ingenuity' and a ‘big step' towards the ‘modern, resilient farming' that the Government set out in its recently published 25 year Farming Roadmap.
Defra said companies such as Fieldwork Robotics was already developing robots that was helping to transform farming in England. It said the firm had built a raspberry-picking robot and was now using government funding to make it tougher and more reliable so it can be rolled out commercially.
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Chris Danks, head of agrifood at Innovate UK, said: "Robotics and automation are becoming increasingly important tools to help farmers improve productivity and build more resilient businesses.
"Working in partnership with Defra, we're supporting businesses, researchers and farmers to work together to develop technologies that address real-world challenges across agriculture.
"This competition will help accelerate innovations from concept to on-farm application, supporting solutions that can improve productivity, sustainability and resilience across the sector."
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This round of funding was now open to livestock applications too, building on the work of projects such as Roboscientific's DETECT project to develop technology that can sniff out illness in dairy cows before it takes hold. Using breath analysis, the system aims to catch bovine respiratory disease early, an illness that costs farmers dearly in lost animals, vet bills and extra work.
Applications are now open. You can find out more and apply through the Innovation Funding Service website.
