Mission-driven, industry-led, and tackling real-world challenges

Whereas basic science feeds the innovation pipeline, agri-tech should ship advantages for farmers and growers. Too usually, agri-tech “customers” really feel they’re invited too late to the dialog with researchers and innovators.

Delegates referred to as for a clearer, “mission-driven” strategy to expertise growth and adoption. Too many inventions, they agreed, fail to handle the real-world wants of farmers – extra intuitive, “user-centred” expertise design and supply is required.

Make investments to be the very best – and inform the world

From robotics to plant breeding, the UK boasts world-leading experience and applied sciences. However with restricted public cash out there to take a position, prioritisation is vital. A rational evaluation and strategic give attention to the UK’s key strengths and priorities is required, backed by long-term funding in R&D and commercialisation in these thematic areas.

The latest AgFunder report exhibits UK agrifoodtech punching effectively above its weight relative to its dimension and R&D spend. Leverage of personal funding is among the many finest on the earth (as in contrast with main markets of the UK, India and China). We must always make extra of it.

As one delegate commented: “We shouldn’t attempt to do all the things – as an alternative do some issues very effectively and promote that message on a worldwide stage.”

Stricter “kill milestones” to recycle cash

Monitoring of tasks at the moment focusses on adherence to authentic challenge plans and costings and scientific excellence moderately than industrial viability.

Delegates strongly advocated for the introduction of “kill milestones” – as applied within the Ceres Agri-Tech programme – to redirect, or recycle, funding from tasks unlikely to attain industrial impression.

The world’s largest on-farm test-and-trial demo community

Demonstration farms and peer-to-peer studying are extensively recognised as worthwhile throughout the {industry}. Strikes are afoot through the ADOPT programme to assist corporations and farmers have interaction extra intently, however delegates instructed a greater imaginative and prescient:

“The UK might create the world’s largest assortment of check farms – say, 100,000 – pay farmers to put aside 1-2 acres in particular agricultural zones, the place technologists can come and check. Nowhere else on the earth has the variety of farmland of the UK – this may very well be leveraged and promoted.”

Actual-world testbeds would additionally assist entice world innovators to the UK.

 

And let’s not neglect…

  • Investing in expertise growth;
  • a versatile and dynamic regulatory setting; and
  • a enterprise panorama that helps funding and firm start-up and development.

 

Caveat and disclaimer:

It is a abstract of the outputs of the Problem Conference workshop – extra element of which shall be launched sooner or later. We acknowledge the constraints in implementing concepts, together with statutory laws on R&D funding, and HM Treasury’s Inexperienced Ebook steering round public spending.