Two more R&D projects for the fresh produce industry have been named in the second round of agri-tech funding, the government has announced.
A project to develop autonomous ‘SmartTraps’ to remotely monitor the non-native pest Spotted Wing Drosophilia (SWD), led by Berry Gardens in association with East Malling Research, has won £190,472.
The project will use image analysis in a non-saturative trap, in what will be a significant advancement in pest-specific monitoring technology.
A University of Nottingham-led project to create a low-cost energy saving and climate control system for glasshouses won £436,076. In partnership with the Cambridge Glasshouse Company, Geo Green Power and Kevothermal, the project aims to provide a sustainable solution to the inherent problems and insufficiencies of the greenhouse protected cropping industry.
The announcement is the second round of funding from the Agri Tech Catalyst fund, which makes up one half of the Agri Tech Strategy (ATS). The total funding for this round of projects was £3.5m, spread across 11 projects. The first wave of funding was announced in July and went to nine fresh produce projects, out of a total of 15.
The second part of the strategy will establish six Centres for Innovation, to bridge the gap between scientific research with applied business practice, the first one of which will explore the potential of ‘big data’ and is due to launch in the new year.
Chief scientific advisor to the NFU, Helen Ferrier, said: “The NFU’s position on the Agri Tech Strategy is that it’s great – but it needs to get enough primary producers on board.
“It’s not just about brand new technologies, but getting more people to adopt existing ones. The NFU wants a genuine bridging of the gap between science and business. It’s not about new knowledge, but knowledge exchange.”
Ferrier was speaking at a forum on Implementing the Agri Tech Strategy, held yesterday in central London (23 October).
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