Government and Policy - Agri-EPI Centre - Precision Innovation
Home » Events » Government and Policy

Government and Policy

Working with the agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture sectors, at Agri-EPI we explore and deliver precision farming engineering, technology and innovation in the UK.

Updating our members and wider interested sectors on evolving Government directives, regulation and policy, we also support seek to inform, educate and influence policy with research, new technology and empirical data.

The Merage DeserTech Competition

/in , , , , ,

Innovate UK and Agri-EPI Centre are pleased to announce their support for the 4th Merage DeserTech competition, an annual event aimed at accelerating innovative technologies addressing global desert challenges. This competition takes place in Be’er Sheva, Israel, and is dedicated to advancing sustainable solutions for arid climates. 

DeserTech’s vision is to establish Be’er Sheva and the Negev region as a prominent global hub for desert technologies. This initiative leverages existing technological and policy research resources, including Ben Gurion University and its Institutes for Desert Research, regional R&D centers, as well as prominent startups and corporations specializing in sustainable agriculture, energy, water, and infrastructure. 

The competition invites British startups to test and develop their solutions in the Negev desert, serving as an ideal testing ground for technologies in an increasingly arid world. With funding opportunities of up to £20,000, British startups can collaborate with trial partners in Israel to refine their technology. 

To participate and learn more about this competition, we invite you to register for an informative event scheduled for September 28th, UK time. During this event, you will gain insights into the unique advantages offered by Negev assets, engage in brainstorming sessions through one-on-one meetings, and begin the development of joint pilot projects. Winning startups may even secure funding for the execution of their pilot initiatives. 

To register for the event, simply follow the provided Zoom registration link.  

Don’t miss this chance to adapt your innovations for thriving in arid climates and to collaborate with Negev assets, your ideal partners for sustainable living in desert environments. Join the Launch Event and become a part of the solution to global desert challenges! 

UK-LATAM Agri-tech collaboration strengthened on visit from Agri-EPI and CIEL

/in , , , , , ,

Agri-EPI and CIEL embarked on a trip to Argentina and Brazil over the last few weeks to help strengthen LATAM-UK agri-tech collaboration. Agri-EPI’s International Business Development Manager, Jane Lycett and Head of Agri-Tech (Dairy), Robert Morrison, along with Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock’s Head of Innovation, Dr. Mark Young, met with representatives at Hub4 Agroinnovacion, where they were given a comprehensive overview of Argentine agriculture and agri-tech innovation – including a fascinating insight into circular farming systems being applied to beef production and a visit to Seed Matriz.

Jane Lycett sat on a panel session at the BCR Agtech Forum, hosted by Ingrid Drago from Bolsa de Comercio de Rosario. At the Congreso Aapresid (Argentine No Till Farmers Association), they saw some of the latest developments in Argentine agri-tech.

With Movimiento CREA they agreed some practical steps towards supporting UK agri-tech companies to make an impact in Argentina and identified world class tech solutions from Argentina which can help to address UK farming challenges. This culminated in signing a MoU to formalise Agri-EPI’s commitment to collaborate.

The week in Argentina was wrapped up at The British Embassy in Buenos Aires to agree next steps, working closely with the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Business and Trade.

The Brazil leg included visits to AgTech Garage, Embrapa’s research farms and Cubo.network with AgriTIERRA’s founder, Mark Jarman.

Jane said:

“There is so much potential for sharing best practices and knowledge in both directions between the UK and Brazil, which will be the focus of a series of company exchange visits that Agri-EPI will facilitate and host later this year.

“We are thrilled to embark on this journey of collaboration and innovation. By connecting the vibrant agri-tech communities of Argentina, Brazil, and the UK, we aim to accelerate the development and adoption of cutting-edge solutions that will drive sustainable agricultural practices and enhance food security on a global scale.”

The Agri-EPI team looks forward to strengthening existing partnerships and forging new connections that will propel the agri-tech sector towards a more sustainable and resilient future. The journey signifies an important step towards creating a global network of agri-tech innovators, researchers, and businesses that will work together to address common challenges and leverage emerging opportunities.

AIA Agri-Tech Investment Advisory service expands staff

/in , , , , , ,

AIA has expanded its staff with the appointment of Jos Lovegrove-Fielden to the role of Investment Advisory Manager.

Jos joins AIA from PwC’s London practice where he oversaw audit, assurance and advisory services to a range of venture capital, private equity and investment management clients. He is also a partner in his family’s dairy farm in Shropshire.

AIA, an agri-tech investment advisory service, was launched in September 2022 to bridge the gap between investors and innovative agri-food start-ups. It combines expertise in capital raising transactions with the sector expertise, asset base and network of its parent, Agri-EPI Centre.

Joining Agri-EPI Centre, Jos Lovegrove-Fielden said:

“Innovative tech is key to enabling agriculture to respond to the macro challenges and disruptions that it faces. The commercial and investment opportunities that will flow from this are enormous, as will be the impact for people and planet more widely. I’m thrilled to play a part in supporting this transition with AIA.”

John Grealish, head of advisory at AIA, said:

“Jos brings the ideal combination of financial and investor experience, alongside a real world knowledge of farming.

“Since we launched AIA late last year we’ve found the scale of the opportunity has been overwhelmingly validated. Jos’s arrival will enable us to support more companies and more investors in achieving their ambitious goals, even in a challenging market.”

Agri-tech Investment Advisory Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Sapia Partners LLP, an entity which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

For more information about AIA, please follow this link.

Agri-EPI Centre announces agreement to develop agri-tech with Morocco

/in , , , ,

Agri-EPI Centre has announced a significant agreement with Morocco’s agri-innovation agency to develop agri-tech innovation.

Agri-EPI, the precision farming specialists, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the agency, Pôle Digital de l’Agriculture, at SIAM, Morocco’s international agriculture exhibition, at which the United Kingdom is guest of honour.

The MOU commits both parties to work together to identify the main challenges facing farming in Morocco and align potential UK agri-innovations and collaborations to resolve them. The parties will facilitate mutual market access for agri-tech testing and provision, and identify opportunities for research and development, including on-farm trials.

SIAM is taking place in Meknes from 2-7 May, with Agri-EPI Centre and members and collaborators, Continental Engineering, Alvatech and the University of Bedfordshire demonstrating their technology and taking part in panel sessions on water scarcity, agri-tech and machinery, and research and development. Agri-EPI Centre is on a pavilion hosted by the Department of Business and Trade Team from the British Embassy in Morocco.

Jane Lycett, Agri-EPI Centre international business development manager, said:

“The scope for the UK and Morocco to address critical challenges for sustainable food production is enormous, and we are looking forward greatly to working with our colleagues at the Pôle Digital.

“The SIAM event is an excellent platform to showcase the UK’s world-leading agri-tech developments to Morocco and to the many other countries represented there. Morocco’s appetite for agricultural innovation and technology development is huge. The Agri-EPI Centre staff, members and collaborators attending SIAM have greatly beneficial expertise in crop technology, water management and irrigation.”

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

According to the MOU, Agri-EPI Centre and the Pôle Digital de l’Agriculture will:

· Work together to identify the main challenges facing the agriculture sector in Morocco. Align potential UK agri-tech solutions and facilitate UK/Morocco collaborations to address these.

· Facilitate Moroccan agri-tech providers UK market-entry through accessing Agri EPI Centre’s facilities, expertise, networks and wider UK business support mechanisms.

· Seek to address any barriers to the adoption of agri-tech in Morocco. Support UK companies to collaborate in-country to trial, test and adapt relevant agri-technologies to suit the specific challenges and farming systems. Demonstrate their impact to showcase the benefits of agri-tech adoption to the wider farming community.

· Jointly assist those operating in the Moroccan agri-tech ecosystem to identify R&D collaboration and commercial opportunities in the UK.

· Through working with Pôle Digital, identify key collaborators in the Moroccan agri-tech ‘ecosystem’ – including industry bodies, academia, centres of excellence, research institutes and farmers – with an interest in, and infrastructure in place, to conduct on-farm trials and participate in collaborations with agri-technology companies.

 

For more information on SIAM, please visit: SIAM 15th Edition 2023 | International Exhibition of Agriculture in Morocco (salon-agriculture.ma)

Exploring the importance of soil health

/in , , , , , , ,

Around 6 million hectares of soil in England and Wales are at risk of either erosion or compaction and intensive agriculture has caused arable soils to lose between 40 and 60 percent of their organic carbon (gov.uk). The fertility of soils can be determined by soil analyses, which provide fundamental information on the status of a soil and enable the scheduling of fertiliser, lime and manure applications to maximise production.​ ​

Claire Hodge, Head of Agri-Tech (Crops) at Agri-EPI, said:

“There is a need for agri-tech to support the measurement and management of soil health and fertility, and importantly we see a role for agri-tech to help farmers make better decisions on their soil health day by day. Our aim is to use real time soil analysis and quality data to understand changing farming systems and environmental conditions.”

Agri-EPI Centre released a questionnaire to their network of innovation farmers to obtain a greater understanding of the soils they work with and to steer future decisions about adopting new technology on farm. The questionnaire covered a wide range of topics all relating to the management of the soil on the farms. It was clear from the farmers’ responses that they are interested in improving their soil and understanding how they can produce crops and grass from their soil with the minimum number of inputs being used.

Regenerative agriculture has recently received significant attention from producers, farmers and growers, and Agri-EPI’s innovation farmers are taking different approaches to achieve more regenerative farming systems. Carbon sampling is one approach but the uptake within the network is only 56% of the farmers taking part. The farmers are generally looking at the value of their soils and how this can be measured in their businesses.

The most frequent complaint by the farmers was non-compatible services and having to rely on too many different platforms to reference crops, livestock, yields and soil samples.

 

Recommendations

  • There is a need for more research into reliable carbon sampling and interpretation of results. Standardised carbon auditing across the network is required for accurate measurements and collection of data on the farms.

 

  • Technology that can aid in the compatibility of services between farmers and allow for the storing of easily accessible information is also required. This could take the form of a platform used across the network for the collection and storage of the farms data.

 

  • It is necessary to assess the activities taking place on the farms in the network to determine whether they are having a positive or negative influence on regenerative practices.

 

  • The measure of nutrient application in variable rate manner is required for better utilisation of slurry, dung, fertiliser and lime.

 

  • The development of a soil mapping platform would aid in the measurement of many land-based activities including the spreading of fertiliser. This would aid in measuring change in the soil over specific periods of time.

 

Agri-EPI will be hosting a special interest group online event: ‘Exploring the importance of soil health’ on 19th April 11AM-12PM. Join to take part in forward thinking discussions, build community networks, and engage with other technology companies and farmers around how soil health can address specific challenges on farm.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/special-interest-group-exploring-the-importance-of-soil-health-tickets-557721759797

International collaboration in agri-tech

/in , , , , , , ,

Agri-EPI’s Business Development Manager, Duncan Ross, spoke at The Argentinian Embassy in London along with Agri-EPI Centre members: Ian Beecher-Jones from JoJo’s Vineyard, Marc Jones, Business Director at Antobot, and Emil Endres, Operations Engineer from Outfield Technologies, as part of the dissemination activity from the two Viticulture projects funded by Innovate UK and EIT Food.  They demonstrated the use of drone and robotic technology and the potential benefits to the viticulture sector to a delegation of visitors from the wine growing Mendoza region of Argentina, and the wider British Argentinian Chamber of Commerce. Agri-EPI’s Communications Officer, Tatiana Boyle, supported with the Spanish translation for the tech in viticulture video shown to the delegation.

This visit follows a trip to Argentina by Duncan and Agri-EPI’s Head of Crops, Claire Hodge, where they attended workshops related to the current state of UK Agri-Tech, and a conference on biofilms near Cordoba. They then travelled to Rosario to meet with numerous Agri-Tech businesses in the area to gain an understanding of Argentinian Agri-Tech, before finally visiting “Glimax” a company that researches and validates Agri-Tech from all parts of the globe to make tech adoption recommendations to their farmer clients in the agronomy side of their business.

Duncan said:

“This was a fantastic opportunity facilitated by the Department of International Trade, to build on the links we are developing with Argentinian contacts both in the UK and in country. I envisage future opportunities for Argentinian Agri-Tech companies to use Agri-EPI Centre hubs as landing pads, and for UK Agri-Tech companies to explore opportunities abroad.”

 

         

Contact Us

Keen to speak to one of the Agri-EPI staff members?
Let us know what we can do for you.

Get in touch

Opening Times

Monday – Friday | 8:30am – 5:00pm

Saturday | Closed

Sunday | Closed

Agri-EPI Centre Rev Logo

Contact Us

Phone: 0131 239 7100

Agri-EPI Centre
Easter Bush
Roslin EH25 9RG

Privacy Notice

Equal Opportunities Policy

Modern Slavery Statement

Follow Us

Work With Us

Careers

We work with UKRI
UK Agri-Tech Centres

Registered office: Agri-EPI Centre Midlands Agri-Tech Innovation Hub, Poultry Lane, Edgmond Newport, England, TF10 8JZ
Company Reg. Number: 09922991
VAT Number: 240019456 (UK)