UK Agri-Tech Centre

The UK Agri-Tech Centre launches today following the merger of Agri-EPI, CIEL and CHAP to create the UK’s largest dedicated agri-tech organisation, driving agri-innovation at unprecedented levels. The UK Agri-Tech Centre, an independent organisation with core funding from Innovate UK, will retain its expert staff and world-leading facilities. It is led by CEO Phil Bicknell and a newly-appointed executive leadership team. Dr. Peter Quinn, chair of the UK Agri-Tech Centre board, said: “One of the major benefits of the new UK Agri-Tech Centre is that we have some of the best people from across the sectors working here and in our networks. Our specialists can use their expertise collaboratively to focus on a solution, creating real-world usable products. “Within ten to 15 years we will have to change our food production and supply chains significantly, but the hardest bit is actually implementing commercial innovation, which can often take five to ten years. It takes endurance and resilience to trial biological work, to work with nature and the seasons which vary from one to the next. We have to focus on the prize. Becoming the UK Agri-Tech Centre increases the scope and speed at which we can work.” Phil Bicknell, UK Agri-Tech Centre CEO said: “We are launching the UK Agri-Tech Centre at a pivotal time: agri-food is the bedrock of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, a sector which is facing ongoing challenges around volatility, policy upheaval, input costs and environmental sustainability. “The UK Agri-Tech Centre will make the most of the phenomenal opportunity to use science and innovation to lead and guide transformational change for the sector, for the benefit of humanity and the planet.” 👉To stay up to date with the latest news from the UK Agri-Tech Centre, sign up to our newsletter: https://ow.ly/frGb50R6n5h

Catch up on our latest blogs, including: 👉Poultry innovation and sustainability with Dr Fiona Short and Paddy Tarbuck 👉Strengthening UK-Spain collaboration in agri-tech through knowledge exchange 👉Five UK agri-tech companies selected for UK-India Agri-Tech Accelerator Programme ➡️Read here: https://ow.ly/WiUs50Upe9A #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

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The UK-India Agri-Tech Accelerator programme aims to promote collaboration in late-stage R&D, investment and market access for cutting-edge agricultural technologies The five UK agri-tech companies selected to participate in this programme includes Mutus Tech Ltd, LinearWorks, Green Crop Tech, AgriSound and LettUs Grow. This week, the five companies participated in ideation and collaboration workshop in Hyderabad alongside representatives from IKP, NAARM and CDAC. Key industry challenges identified in this workshop included: 👉Climate change 👉Acceptance of technology 👉Time for adoption 👉Low rate of digital literacy 👉High cost of tech 👉Access to capital 👉Access to market 👉Short ROI investment timelines 👉Lack of storage solutions 👉Lack of mechanisation 👉Labour Cost 👉Water 👉Productivity vs sustainability 👉Language barriers 👉Costs 👉Small farm size 👉State wide policy 👉Sustainability 👉Scattered supply chain ▶️Learn more about the programme: https://ow.ly/gViG50VcB51 #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

The ImmunIGY project is transforming calf care with a simple lateral flow test designed to assess colostrum uptake in calves aged 1-42 days. Proper colostrum intake is crucial for a calf's immunity, growth, and disease resistance. The test provides farmers with a quick and effective way to monitor colostrum absorption, promoting healthier calves and more efficient beef production. This farmer-friendly, 10-minute test is easy to use, delivering quantitative results validated against independent ELISA tests. By improving daily liveweight gain by up to 11% and reducing antibiotic use by 46%, ImmunIGY offers a practical solution to optimise supply chain management. The project was funded by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the UK Research and Innovation Transforming Food Production Challenge Fund, with primary consortium partners including Synergy Farm Health Ltd, University of Nottingham, Soma Bioscience, and the UK Agri-Tech Centre. As part of the co-development team, Buitelaar Group acted as an advisor, helping to steer the project to success. During the project, Bimeda was confirmed as the global distributor for the ImmunIGY test. They have since promoted ImmunIGY and provided opportunities for the project lead to discuss the project with wider audiences. ImmunIGY has already achieved recognition, winning the Dairy Innovation Award from Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) in 2024. Interested in learning more or collaborating on a project like this? Get in touch with us today! 👉Watch the full video here: https://ow.ly/HL4Z50Vm9Sa ✉️Email us at: info@ukagritechcentre.com #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

This week, the 5 UK agri-tech companies, who are participating in the UK-India Agri-Tech Accelerator programme, landed into Hyderabad for a site visit at ICRISAT ICRISAT is a research centre of the CGIAR consortium, and pioneers research in developing and improving dryland farming and agri-food systems to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation in the drylands of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. A massive thank you to the team for hosting our delegation. We had the opportunity to discuss potential collaborations, mutual research interests, and tour the fantastic facilities and field trials. The UK-India Agri-Tech Accelerator programme includes representatives from Mutus Tech, LinearWorks, Green Crop Tech, AgriSound and LettUs Grow. The programme aims to: 👉Identify key challenges in India’s agricultural sector and opportunities for collaboration. 👉Drive networking to share expertise and foster partnerships, exchanging ideas and technological innovations. 👉Support businesses to commercialise technologies optimised for the India markets. 👉Accelerate export opportunities and foreign direct investment (FDI). ➡️Read more here: https://ow.ly/gViG50VcB51 #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

As we approach one year as the UK Agri-Tech Centre, we are thrilled to have been able to accelerate ambitions across the agriculture sector, with an incredible year of innovation, collaboration and growth. Over the past 12 months, we have: 👉Contributed to 100 active projects across One Health, Sustainable Food Production, Resilient Food Systems and Intelligent Agriculture, driving innovation to help address the pressing challenges across the sector 👉Collaborated with 158 partners across CR&D projects in the UK and internationally 👉Contributed £85.2 million to the sector Thank you to our incredible team, project partners and community – we couldn’t have done it without your support and engagement. Join us in celebrating the companies we are working with as they grow, sell their products and attract investment. ➡️Read more here: https://ow.ly/5Rze50Vloa4 #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

This week, 5 successful participants of the UK-India Agri-Tech Accelerator programme landed into India to partake in a weeklong initiative to promote collaboration in late-stage R&D, investment and market access for cutting-edge agricultural technologies. The five companies selected to participate in the programme included Mutus Tech, LinearWorks, Green Crop Tech, AgriSound and LettUs Grow. First stop was Delhi for a briefing sessions with Department for Business and Trade Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs followed by an in depth ideation and collaboration workshop which included representatives from Government (Ministry of Agriculture, NABARD, BIRAC, Niti Aayog), Research centres (IARI, IIT Kanpur Agri) and incubators (Pusa Krishi, ISB Mohali IFC, Think Ag, Agri startups, Corporates). The core objectives of this visit programme include: 👉Identifying key challenges in India’s agricultural sector and opportunities for collaboration in agri-tech. 👉Encouraging networking to showcase UK expertise and foster partnerships, exchanging ideas and technological innovations with counterparts in India. 👉Supporting businesses to commercialise technologies optimised for the India markets. 👉Accelerating export opportunities and foreign direct investment (FDI). ➡️Read more here: https://ow.ly/gViG50VcB51 Emma Chapelhow Charlie Guy Robin Wilson Chris F. Manu Kenchappa Junjanna Navneeta Katyan Swati Saxena Linsey Cresswell Dr Jenna Ross OBE

Today is #NationalPoultryDay 🐔 Experts from the UK Agri-Tech Centre recently joined an engaging discussion on the Poultry.Network’s podcast, delving into science-led research, sustainability and the challenges facing the poultry industry today. Dr Fiona Short and Paddy Tarbuck, both Innovation Leads at the UK Agri-Tech Centre, sat down with Tom Willings for a special edition of the Sustainability Hub podcast. During the conversation, they explored how scientific advancements and research initiatives are shaping the future of agriculture, as well as the various types of support available for farmers and industry professionals. ➡️Read more and listen to the podcast here: https://ow.ly/6RwZ50VkMI5 #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness

Transforming Livestock and Aquaculture Production for a Sustainable Future🐄🐟 The UK Agri-Tech Centre and the Roslin Institute are thrilled to unveil 'Livestock and Aquaculture Innovation: Harnessing genetic tools for a sustainable future'. Highlights include: ✅The critical importance of broader breeding goals and achieving faster genetic gains ✅How we can maximise the potential of the best available tools to enhance traits ✅Why regulatory gaps shouldn't stall innovation The UK Agri-Tech Centre recognises that targeted investment in R&D is critical to ensuring genetic technologies deliver commercial impact and is committed to supporting the development of cutting-edge genetic improvement tools. 👉Download today: https://ow.ly/KyjH50VjO34 #sustainability #GeneticImprovement #livestock #aquaculture #innovation #resilientsystems #intelligentagriculture #acceleratingagritech #agritech #agribusiness