£16.5m Government Funding for Farming Tech Projects
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has allocated £16.5 million to agricultural research and development projects. The £270 million Farming Innovation Programme is partnering with UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) “transforming food production challenge” to provide funding.
The £16.5 million will be distributed two ways: £5.5 million for feasibility projects, which provide funding for projects in the early testing stage to create innovative ideas; and £11 million through UKRI’s small R&D partnership competition.
The farming innovation minister, Steve Double, stated that the goal was to help the UK’s “already brilliant farming and horticulture sector” reach its full potential.
A number of proposals have been funded, including Farmsense, a platform that uses image and sensor technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) to maximise pig welfare by monitoring animal growth, behaviour, and gas profiles in addition to their daily and night time routines.
The Blue Planet II project, which uses an automated platform to enhance fruit growing, and Muddy Machines, which is seeking to create a colony of agri-robots for harvesting vegetables, are other two funded projects.
News Credit: Farming tech projects get £16.5m in government funding
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