The government’s Industrial Strategy: Agri-tech on the frontier

Today, the government has published its long awaited 10-year, multibillion-pound industrial strategy. It outlines how the government will progress priority sectors identified by ministers, create jobs and drive long-term economic growth. It is s good news for agri-tech businesses and startups as the sector is identified as a frontier industry.

In its strategy, the government identifies agri-tech as a vital emerging market in the advanced manufacturing sector. The UK agri-food chain contributes £147 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) and the number of UK agri-tech startups has increased 40-fold in the last decade. The agri-tech market is expected to grow even more rapidly, with increasing global demand for technologies that support economic resilience in agriculture. The agri-tech sector is vital to improving agricultural productivity and sustainability, and ministers want the UK to be at the forefront of innovation.

In its plan for the agri-tech industry, the government has flagged that it is particularly interested in businesses that are seeking to develop net zero solutions and address food security challenges. It will support UK agri-tech to target precision technologies that champion the application of controlled environments, robotics and automation, advanced sensors, AI and data systems, in both domestic and global markets. Precision agri-tech will also benefit from, and accelerate growth in, the application of engineering biology to agriculture.

The government has outlined its vision for the sector, wanting to reduce dependency on public investment by crowding in at least £50 million in private investment by 2029, leading to a strong cohort of profitable businesses in the space. It also wants to see a significant increase in the application of automation to resolve challenges around seasonal labour. By the end of the next decade, it hopes to see the sector turnover at least £20 billion by 2035.

The roadmap for growth

For UK agri-tech, the publication of the industrial strategy introduces several distinct interventions that ministers hope will boost investment and growth in the sector. First, at least £200m has been allocated to the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2030, providing dedicated and targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture. Second, the government will set up an agri-tech export accelerator programme to match high-growth businesses with the most promising global markets and upskill these companies to build resilient supply chains. The programme will focus on priority markets with UK companies pitching collaboratively to deliver agri-tech solutions in new markets. Finally, to encourage the wider agricultural sector to adopt new technology at pace, programmes such as the ADOPT fund will be expanded to enable agri-tech SMEs to work with farmers to trial new technologies and practices. These grants will provide critical evidence of operational feasibility and return on investment, so farmers have the confidence to invest in new technology on farms.

The Industrial Strategy 2025 and the sector plan for advanced manufacturing places agri-tech at the heart of the government’s plans for future economic growth. Doing so signals how the government perceives the potential of agri-tech solutions to boost the productivity and resilience of the agricultural sector, as well as resolve the biggest challenges of the coming decade such as food security and climate resilience. To work with the sector to deliver these goals, the Agricultural Productivity Group has been set up to support the industry to accelerate agri-tech adoption. Businesses in the space should keep a close eye out for the publication of the farming roadmap and the land use framework later this year, which will set out further plans for the food and agriculture systems. There is no doubt, however, that with cutting-edge research, innovative startups, and strong government support, policymakers are positioning the UK as a world leader on the agri-tech frontier.

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