Defra has unveiled £16.5 million of funding to spearhead research projects in farming, such as artificial intelligence to optimise pig welfare and the roll out of robots to speed up crop picking.
The funding is part of the government's wider £270 million Farming Innovation Programme, which aims to drive innovation in British agriculture.
Details of the successful applications from the first round of projects have been shared, including the use of innovative sensor technology and AI to optimise welfare in pigs,
A project entitled Blue Planet II aims to build upon autonomous technology to further increase fruit crop yield and quality.
And ‘Muddy Machines’, whose agri-robot concepts aim to speed up vegetable harvesting with sustainability and reliability at their core, has also received funding.
The funding is awarded through competitions, meaning applications for each competition are judged and only the successful ones are funded.
Farmers and researchers are now being invited to collaborate and submit applications for two new competitions.
Farming Innovation Minister Steve Double said: “We want to help unlock greater potential in our already brilliant farming and horticulture sector.
"Today’s first round of projects demonstrate how - with the right funding and support - there are great productivity and environmental sustainability gains to be made.
“Our £27m investment in farming innovation is designed to help take the UK’s world-leading research ideas and turn them into practical solutions to support healthy soils, abundant pollinators and clean water alongside profitable food production.”
Katrina Hayter, challenge director for the Transforming Food Production challenge, added: “You only need look at the sheer breadth of projects that have received funding to see there are so many opportunities for innovation across the food sector.
"From animal health to crop productivity, the introduction of strategic support technology and the precise application of chemicals, it’s exciting to see so many concepts beginning to come to life.
"We now look forward to supporting these projects further as they develop.”
The next rounds of the Feasibility Projects and the Small R&D Partnership Project competitions are due to open shortly.
