Friday 28 June 2019

Farmers plough towards net zero with £22.4m of new funding

Farmers plough towards net zero with £22.4m of new funding

The government has awarded £22.4 million of funding for farmers to cut down on pollution, minimise waste and produce more food.

Science Minister Chris Skidmore said the money will be split among the first 31 projects to benefit from the government’s Transforming Food Production Challenge, a £90 million Industrial Strategy fund to help transform the farming sector.

Industry partners will also contribute a further £8.8 million.

The projects chosen to receive funding include Rootwave in Warwickshire, which will use a £690,000 grant to develop its method of killing weeds with electricity rather than using environmentally-damaging herbicides and Tuberscan in Lincolnshire, which will use £391,000 to work on its ground-penetrating radar for monitoring potato crops, slashing the rate of waste.

Other projects include fitting sensors on remote-controlled farm gates to help cows graze without farmer supervision and using AI to tackle invasive plants without resorting to potentially dangerous chemicals.

The government hopes the funding will help farmers contribute towards its commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Science Minister Chris Skidmore said: "The projects announced today will ensure we lead the way in supporting our vital farming industry, delivering high quality food for consumers while reducing the wider environmental impact.

"This is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy, investing in ground-breaking projects, creating highly skilled jobs and providing a cleaner, greener future for generations to come."

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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