The drive to make Britain a global leader in agri-tech was boosted by AHDB’s £1.4million PhD programme which brought students face to face with the industry.
Thirty students visited food and agricultural businesses to help drive collaboration and innovation from the lab to the industry.
The group are all undertaking doctorates in areas of research relevant to agricultural and horticultural industry priorities, to help grow the next generation of technical experts.
A recent report by the UK Robotics & Autonomous Systems Network (UK RAS), suggested that British agri-tech, which is larger than the automotive and aerospace industries combined, needed greater collaboration across the sector and was not reaching its potential.
Students visited six locations in North West England, including the Lancaster Environment Centre, seed suppliers Quantil Agriculture, the Lancaster Brewery, Huntapac – which grows, packs and distributes vegetables, brassicas and salads – and Lovania, a nursery which supplies over 30 million plants to 1,200 businesses every year.
Former student Georgina Key said: “The value of getting out of the laboratory and into real-world situations can’t be underrated. It’s a means of stimulating innovation and increasing collaboration with the industries which could directly benefit from the student’s work, in the future.
“Their projects range from crop protection through to automation, but visiting sites and seeing how technology and science is applied in practice by businesses will inspire the students, helping them to ask more questions and stimulate new ideas.”
Arable farmer Andrew Webster explained to the group how AHDB’s Knowledge Exchange Programme and collaborating with manufacturers was key to him driving innovation in his farming business.
Webster said: “We wanted to improve nematicide incorporation to help protect crops grown on our farm. We approached a number of manufacturers to get machine trials, but we were turned down time after time because we simply did not have the right connections.
“Then we hosted an AHDB Potatoes event, benefitting from the cream of the industry crop turning up on our farm. Through that, building up our connections with industry and getting access to technology, we were able to innovate and develop a new piece of kit, which helps us control microscopic nematode worms on farm. Having that close relationship with researchers, agronomists and growers is essential to driving innovation across the industry.”
On 17 July AHDB applications will open for new Postgraduate Studentships, for more information on the programme visit: https://ahdb.org.uk/projects/PhDStudentships.aspx
