News story

Transforming the way we produce food: apply for business funding

Businesses can apply for a share of up to £20 million to support ambitious projects developing new and more efficient ways to produce the UK바카라 사이트™s food.

Tractor driving across a field

World demand for food is expected to grow by 60 per cent to feed a rising and more prosperous global population.

Food producers need to supply what we eat in a more sustainable and efficient way, reducing pollution, minimising waste and improving soil conditions.

The UK is a global leader in the technologies that will help to achieve this, including in environmental management, earth observation, sensors, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics.

The UK 바카라 사이트바카라 사이트™s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Transforming Food Production Challenge has up to £20 million from the fund to invest in large-scale and ambitious projects that help UK food production break out of a traditional land-based model and move towards a sustainable position of net-zero emissions.

Areas of work could include new food sources

The competition is seeking projects either developing new and efficient low-emission food production systems or addressing technological and other bottlenecks holding back state-of-the art systems from supplying consumers.

Areas of work could include indoor growing systems, aquaculture, and new food sources such as insects and fermentation-based systems.

Projects must show how they will:

  • significantly contribute to achieving net-zero emissions across one or more food products
  • provide nutrient dense foods that are accessible to mainstream consumers
  • deliver other relevant benefits to society, such as reduced resource consumption and waste or improved animal welfare
  • apply a systems approach as opposed to working on a single technology

Competition information

  • the competition is open and the deadline for applications is at midday on 22 January 2020
  • businesses of any size may apply
  • projects could range in size between £1 million and £10 million

farmer holding potatoes in a field
  • UK-China: precision for enhancing agricultural productivity

We will fund projects to focus on autonomo*us technologies (sensors, systems, vehicles and robotics) and data-driven solutions to enhance productivity. Projects should include demonstration sites in China, in the UK, or both.

  • Science & technology into practice

Up to £15 million will support projects that either evaluate early stage feasibility or demonstrate the viability of precision solutions that will transform food production.

Case study: Improving potato yields

Updates to this page

Published 27 September 2019