Agri-tech

Technological advances in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) hold the potential to transform some of the greatest challenges facing the future of global agriculture.

Precision agriculture has widely been regarded as a solution to many of the challenges facing the farming sector. Food producers look to feed a growing global population amid increasing frequency of extreme weather due to climate change; an increase in the tolerance of pests and weeds and an equally increasing level of regulation to protect the environment.

N8 AgriFood has carried out projects across the agri-tech space, contributing to the development of novel technologies while also investigating farmer behaviour and barriers to technology adoption.

Here is how N8 AgriFood has been supporting this vital sector, influencing the challenges facing global agriculture and grasping opportunities for innovation, investment and commercial growth.

White Paper - Agricultural Robotics: The Future of Robotic Agriculture

N8 AgriFood chair Professor Bruce Grieve co-authored a White Paper Agricultural Robotics: The Future of Robotic Agriculture’ alongside Professor Simon Blackmore of Harper Adams University, and the University of Lincoln’s Professor Tom Duckett and Professor Simon Pearson, which was released during UK Robotics Week 2018.

POST Briefing Event - Future of Agricultural Technologies

Academics from N8 AgriFood universities were invited to speak at a closed briefing into the Future of Agricultural Technologies, hosted by the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST). Sarah Bridle, above centre, and Niamh Forde, right, spoke while Sonal Choudhary, left, attended as an observer.

White paper - What's next for the UK's 'Controlled Environment Agriculture'

This white paper considers what is next for the UK’s agricultural sustainability which is being triply challenged by resource and labour pressures, ever increasing consumer demand and the consequences of anthropogenic climate change.

A vision for urban agriculture in the modern city:

Dr Harry Langford explores how the northern powerhouse cities have enormous potential. Not only does their heritage provide an urban fabric of architectural history, intertwined public green space and mature treelined streets, it also provides affordable and large plots of former industrial land that can be used for sustainable re-development.

Indoor Food Production – Challenges & Opportunities

This report provides an overview of an innovation workshop attended by N8 academics and businesses involved in indoor food production. The aim was to stimulate co-designed, multi-disciplinary research into new and novel farming systems that can offer year-round, sustainable production of high-quality produce.