LEAF’s Innovation Head becomes Agri-TechE’s new Chair

Dr Helen Ferrier, Director of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange at LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) has been announced as the new Chair of Agri-TechE’s Stakeholder Group. 

Helen follows in the footsteps of previous Chair, John Barrett, and takes up the reins as the fifth Chair, supporting the Agri-TechE team in gathering strategic perspectives from different elements of the value chain impacted by agri-tech. 

With a rotating membership, invited representatives from across the Agri-TechE network are invited to join the discussions, share their insights about the opportunities and challenges, and help ensure Agri-TechE is staying aligned with – or indeed ahead of – the needs of the industry in terms of its activities and thinking.  

Helen has an academic background in environmental science and epidemiology and was a research scientist at Imperial College London.  She is currently a Board member of Niab and the Farm Data Principles council.

She has recently joined LEAF from her previous role as Chief Adviser for Science and Innovation at the National Farmers’ Union, where she worked for over 20 years leading its policy and advocacy work on science and research, biotechnology, food safety and data. 

Agri-TechE’s Director of Communities, Becky Dodds welcomed the appointment, commenting, “Helen has been a long-standing supporter of Agri-TechE, in fact she was a speaker at one of our very first events over a decade ago. She brings a wealth of experience across many of the aspects of the value chain in which we operate, from research to farming, to having input into policy.” 

The Agri-TechE Stakeholder Group meetings will be held around the UK, offering opportunities for members to engage in state-of-the-nation discussions and share peer-to-peer insights, as well as supporting Agri-TechE’s strategic direction.