Farmers need support to reap the benefits of AI

The agriculture sector is a vital pillar of the UK’s industrial landscape, contributing almost £14bn to the economy. Despite the sector’s economic value, it faces mounting pressures around productivity and sustainability.

In response to these pressures, Digital Catapult is accelerating the practical application of deep tech to decarbonise the sector, and the industry must embrace this transformation to see environmental and commercial success in the long-term.

Critical challenges

Despite the potential of AI in agriculture, several key barriers currently stand in the way of AI adoption among farmers, and in the industry more broadly. Data management systems on farms are typically unsystematic and outdated, and these must be modernised before AI can deliver meaningful benefits. Similarly, rural locations often struggle with reliable and speedy internet access, which can also hinder the successful integration of AI technologies.

Through the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, Digital Catapult is working to address these interconnected challenges by combining practical support for infrastructure and data modernisation. By working directly with farmers and agtech innovators, we are starting to build realistic expectations around AI’s strategic value – while providing qualified consultancy on specific applications that align with traditional farming needs.

Data-driven farming

Considering how AI could transform the agricultural sector, the use of machine learning, data analytics, computer vision and automation present opportunities on several fronts. Many farmers struggle to keep up with the demand for high quality food in the UK, and helping farmers to apply deep tech innovation has the potential to tackle current challenges around productivity and sustainability. Embedding AI into farm machinery, for example by using robotic fruit harvesters or using drone technology to monitor crops, could automate time consuming and laborious tasks like harvesting, weeding and pest control, improving efficiency and productivity levels for agricultural businesses.

Farmers could also use machine learning and predictive analytics to forecast weather patterns to optimise decision-making on farms. Weather patterns serve as an important metric in the agricultural sector and are a key consideration on several innovation and accelerator programmes we deliver, centred around decarbonisation and supply chain resilience. Timing is crucial in determining fruit and vegetable yield, and AI-augmented weather models can provide farmers with the information they need to fully optimise overall on-farm decision making, such as when to plant, harvest, or apply fertilisers.

The sector is already starting to see the potential of data-driven farming with the emergence of ‘precision agriculture’, which combines multiple advanced technologies like AI, IoT and robotics to measure and respond to site-specific conditions. The majority of farmers, however, remain unsure about how to adopt and integrate AI into their operations, and this is where government support is proving to be instrumental.

Investing in modernisation

Government investment continues to play an important role in overcoming the barriers to AI adoption in the agricultural sector. By delivering training programmes to educate farmers on the applications of AI, government support is enabling many to improve their digital literacy, ensuring they use new solutions to achieve environmental and efficiency gains.

Targeted funding through government grants and subsidies can also alleviate the financial burden that technology investment and adoption can incur on businesses. The UK government’s promise to invest £12.5mn in agritech marks a significant step in the modernisation of the farming sector more broadly, and critical to this plan is the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme. The programme has already demonstrated how targeted investment can have a positive impact on low-adoption industries, and will continue to do so through successful collaboration with agricultural partners.

Accessing AI support and expertise

The Innovate UK BridgeAI programme has seen successful AI implementation across key sectors, including agriculture and food processing.

The success of BridgeAI collaborations like Galebreaker and Smartbell demonstrate how barriers to AI adoption can be overcome when the right support is in place. Galebreaker, which specialises in weather protection and ventilation solutions for livestock housing, partnered with animal health monitoring expert Smartbell to tackle a significant challenge: heat stress in dairy cows. The project demonstrated a practical pathway to both improved animal welfare and enhanced farm productivity – showing how AI can solve real farming challenges while delivering clear financial returns.

AI holds immense promise for the future of the agrifood sector, if its challenges can be overcome. For this to happen, farmers need government funding and investment in education and infrastructure, as well as the co-development of viable AI applications that are based on existing pain points. With the right investment, we are highly likely to see productivity, sustainability and efficiency gains across the entire sector.

As part of this mission, support for businesses at all stages of the AI adoption journey is currently available through the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme and its partners.