Its aim is to make the UK a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability by supporting business and researchers addressing the challenges of:
- a rising population
- rapid development of emerging economies
- shortages of land, water and energy
The fourth round of funding opened on 8 January 2015 and closes on 24 June 2015. It is open to any UK business or research partner and projects must be collaborative.
The Agri-Tech Catalyst funds projects in:
- primary production
- non-food uses of crops
- food security and nutrition challenges in international development
- challenges in food processing where the solution lies in primary production
There are three types of award:
- funding for early-stage feasibility studies
- funding for industrial research including technology development, laboratory prototypes, product development planning, field trials and market testing
- late-stage funding for real-life trials to evaluate commercial potential
The Government has so far funded 52 Agri-Tech Catalyst projects and the next round is now open. An free event on 24 Feb will help people with innovative ideas to find out more.
The aim of the workshop is to enable potential applicants to get a better understanding of the competition process, rules and scope. The workshop is also designed to help with networking and consortia building, and offers a great opportunity for delegates to pitch their capabilities to potential collaborative partners.
More information can be found here: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/events/2015/1502-agritech-workshop.aspx
Consortium for first Agri-Tech innovation centre announced
The BIS Agri-Tech team has announced the ‘preferred bidder’ for the Centre for Agri-Informatics and Sustainability Metrics. A consortium led by Rothamsted Research, University of Reading, NIAB and Scotland’s Rural College will finalise their plans for the new Centre over the coming months. Outline bids for the remaining Centres were assessed before Christmas and consortia have now been informed if they will be invited to submit a full proposal, with ‘consortium building’ meetings organised in January. For the latest information on Agri-Tech, keep an eye on the website www.agritechuk.org and on Twitter @AgriTechGov