“By automating the trimming process in our factory, we are removing a significant amount of labour from our parsnip line,” explains Jamie Lockhart, Managing Director of Frederick Hiam Limited, about adoption of agri-tech on-farm. Agri-tech entrepreneurs are asking the farming community to ‘lean in’ to ensure technology meets their requirements and to help fund the early stages of development. A number of early-stage businesses with strong business cases are participating in the Agri-TechE Innovation Hub (sponsored by BBRO) at the Royal Norfolk Show on 28 – 29th June 2023.

Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE, says that the Innovation Hub gives farmers the opportunity to meet researchers and innovators in person, see the technology and talk to others with an interest in collaboration.

She says: “Farmer-led development is part of the government’s ‘Farming Innovation Programme’. Across our ecosystem we have seen that close collaboration between farmers and technologists has been a vital component in the success of companies that have taken a product to market.

“With a few notable exceptions, there is a shortage of investors that understand agriculture. Farming businesses and high net-worth individuals, known as Angel investors, can be important not just for the funding they provide but also their know-how, applications and connections.”

Frederick Hiam is a diverse farming and fresh produce business growing a wide range of root vegetables, including parsnips, potatoes and onions, on light sandy, and rich fen soils. It has invested in the ROBOTTI, an autonomous tractor being developed by Autonomous Agri Solutions. ROBOTTI is able to navigate the field fitted with attachments for seeding, weeding and spraying, saving time and improving precision of operations.

For this investment Frederick Hiam received a grant of 40% of the capital. This funding was vital and without it they wouldn’t have committed to the project.

However, some projects can’t wait for the grant offer.

Jamie Lockhart continues: “We are investing a significant sum, but this is a world-first technology and therefore comes with a significant risk. We are working closely with the developers and without the aid of a grant as the potential return on investment is so good. Without this new technology we were considering shutting down our parsnip packing operation as the costs were too high and the availability of labour too unreliable.”

Crowdsourced funding – where entrepreneurs pitch their technology solutions to potential investors on an online platform such as Crowdcube – is democratising equity investment by allowing more people to invest in companies they want to support.

At a recent Agri-TechE webinar, two beneficiaries of crowdsourced funding shared their learning points. AgriSound is a developer of bio-acoustic listening devices for pollinators, and Small Robot Company (SRC) is a developer of a fleet of small robots that deliver ‘farming as a service’. Both have gained the support of farmers and high-street retailers to help get their technologies to market.

Sarra Mander, CMO of SRC, commented that although private investment opportunities are available for agri-tech, there is a shortage of investors that really understand agriculture.

Both companies stressed the need to establish an engaged community, in order to be ‘fully funded’ before going for crowdsourced funding. The companies had benefited from early exposure in the Start-Up Showcase at Agri-TechE’s REAP conferences, and SRC had developed a farmer advisory group of 20 farmers providing input and connections.

Jamie agrees: “Without farmers and developers working together and accepting a degree of risk in terms of outcome, progress will not meet the undeniable need for automation and smarter farming methodology.”