The British government would be offering £20 million in funding to develop robots and automated technologies designed to help farmers plant and harvest crops, according to Retail Gazette.

This funding would be part of the government's Farming Innovation Programme. It would follow the executive's commitment to invest £200 million in agricultural innovation by 2030.

The government is offering £20m in funding to help develop robots and automated technology that could support farmers with planting and harvesting crops.
The government is offering £20m in funding to help develop robots and automated technology that could support farmers with planting and harvesting crops. · Retail Gazette

The proposed funding would aim to support technologies designed to sow, maintain crops and pick fruit. L'objectif would reportedly be to help farms that struggle to find enough seasonal workers during peak periods.

Farmers and growers need more reliable access to water as drought and extreme weather continues to put pressure on UK food production, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned.
Farmers and growers need more reliable access to water as drought and extreme weather continues to put pressure on UK food production, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned. · Retail Gazette

Agriculture minister Stephen Morgan said that « les agriculteurs travaillent incroyablement dur pour mettre de la nourriture sur nos tables, se battant souvent pour trouver suffisamment de travailleurs saisonniers quand la pression monte ». He added that this funding would help put robots and cutting-edge technology into the hands of farmers, easing this burden while boosting yields and profits, and that it would be a vote of confidence in British ingenuity, as well as an important step towards the modern, resilient agriculture described in the government's Farming Roadmap.

Candidatures open to technology companies

Boots
Boots · Retail Gazette

Companies working on agricultural technologies could apply for a share of this funding, in order to collaborate with researchers and farmers on new systems.