The UK Government has announced almost £46m in funding to help boost farm profitability and deliver nature-friendly foods.
Supported projects could include robots carrying out delicate fruit picking and health monitors for cows and sheep, and variable irrigation systems to maximise water usage on crops.
The emphasis is on reducing on-farm emissions and “capitalising on new opportunities made possible by the Precision Breeding Act, which could supercharge food production by increase crop yields, reduce pesticides and enhance disease resistance”, according to Defra. The funds “will help to strengthen food security, increase farmers’ profits and protect nature as part of the government’s Plan for Change”, the department added.
The funding pot comes shortly after the government shut its Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which has angered farming representatives and left producers in limbo. The NFU has said thousands of farmers are facing losses.
NFU deputy president David Exwood welcomed the new funding. “Similar investment by Defra in agri-technology has proven to have real benefits in increasing productivity and animal health and welfare on farm,” he told Farmers Weekly. “This is why it’s so important that the government secures a £4bn annual agriculture budget for England at the spending review,” he added.
The three funds, worth a combined £45.6m, will support multiple projects through the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) competition, as well as two further competitions under the Farming Innovation Programme.
