Agri-TechE Director awarded prestigious Fellowship of The Royal Agricultural Societies

Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE , has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAgS) in a ceremony at the House of Lords on Tuesday 11th October, hosted by Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

The Awards are a celebration by recognition of the remarkable personal achievements and contribution of individuals to the many sectors of the food and farming industry.

This contribution to UK agricultural progress may include supporting innovation and excellence, furthering research, advancing technology, or holding voluntary roles which underpin the sector.

Nick Green, Chairman to the English Panel, said: “Today 26 people from across England have collected the prestigious Associate or Fellowship award, all of whom have been recognised by their peers. We are delighted to highlight individual personal achievement in such a historical setting. As an apolitical organisation, we feel that our membership can really lead the industry.”

There are two categories: Associateship (ARAgS) and Fellowship (FRAgS), the senior award. Candidates are commended by existing fellows and then invited to the national panel to make a submission in support of their application.

Belinda’s commendation was for facilitating links between farmers and the innovation ecosystem, and was supported by the late Caroline Drummond MBE and John Shropshire OBE.

She comments: “I feel very honoured to receive this award and thank John Shropshire and Caroline Drummond, who is sadly no longer with us, for their support and encouragement.”

Also awarded an Associateship of the Royal Agricultural Societies at the ceremony was Jake Freestone of Overbury Farms, who is part of Agri-TechE ’s Farmer First Innovation Group (FFIG).

Innovation ecosystem

There will be an opportunity to find out more about the agri-tech innovation ecosystem at the REAP Conference ‘Making Sense of Agriculture’ on Tuesday 8th November 2022. It will feature a Farmer Breakfast for invited guests and a panel of farmers discussing the latest technologies and their potential for farm practice.

REAP 2022: ‘Making Sense of Agriculture’ – Tuesday 8th November 2022

From yield mapping and precision livestock through to digital twins and cloud computing, at REAP 2022 we will be exploring the technology and looking at the implications from a field to landscape level. Making technology farm-centric is core to Agri-TechE ’s mission so a key feature of the conference will be a panel of farmers and producers discussing the emerging technologies and future scenarios.

reapconference.co.uk