£16m in funding for agri-tech

Twenty-four innovative agri-tech projects have been awarded a share of £16 million funding through the latest round of the Government’s Agri-Tech Catalyst scheme.

Successful projects in the fifth round include the development of a robot that accurately eliminates and controls weeds, which will significantly reduce the use of herbicides in food production. Another project will look at why potato greening occurs and how to prevent it – helping to reduce the 100,000 tonnes of potatoes thrown away annually. Support has also been given to develop technology that will help fruit farmers monitor and control the storage of British apples – improving their availability window across the year and reducing the need for imports.

Five projects will target challenges in developing countries, including improving methods to detect carcinogenic mould toxins in food crops.