Innovate UK

Earth Rover Limited specializes in developing robotic agriculture systems tailored for farmers, focusing on applications such as scouting, weeding, and selective harvesting. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Newport, United Kingdom, the company leverages technology initially designed for the ExoMars Rover, adapting it for precision farming. Their autonomous farming robots are equipped with advanced tools and integrate with a smart data platform, allowing farmers to enhance current agricultural practices and move towards more autonomous farming solutions.

We care about sustainability when growers get better yields worldwide. That's why we have developed Petiole - a mobile-first digital tool to boost agriculture productivity and science. Our mobile application is a time & money saver for agronomists, farmers and agscientists who track the plant growth via efficient leaf area measurements.

PheroSyn specializes in the development and production of innovative pest pheromones aimed at enhancing agricultural practices. A spin-out from Rothamsted Research, a prominent non-profit research center, PheroSyn focuses on creating pheromone-based integrated pesticides. These products utilize pheromone traps to effectively attract specific pest species, allowing farmers to monitor pest infestations accurately. By providing clear indicators of pest presence, PheroSyn's solutions help farmers minimize unnecessary over-spraying, thereby improving cost efficiency and optimizing resource utilization. The company's approach contributes to more sustainable agricultural practices, benefiting farmers and society as a whole.

Drone Ag is a UK-based company focused on enhancing agricultural productivity through drone automation and artificial intelligence software. The team comprises farmers, agronomists, drone pilots, and software engineers who leverage their extensive experience from operating drone systems on their own 6,000-acre farm. The company offers a range of services, including drone training courses and user-friendly software solutions. By collecting and analyzing leaf-level crop data, Drone Ag enables farmers to optimize the application of resources, guiding ground machinery and drone sprayers to specific areas of fields at appropriate times. This practical approach to precision agriculture ensures that the company's offerings are grounded in real-world experience, allowing clients to improve their farming practices effectively.

PheroSyn specializes in the development and production of innovative pest pheromones aimed at enhancing agricultural practices. A spin-out from Rothamsted Research, a prominent non-profit research center, PheroSyn focuses on creating pheromone-based integrated pesticides. These products utilize pheromone traps to effectively attract specific pest species, allowing farmers to monitor pest infestations accurately. By providing clear indicators of pest presence, PheroSyn's solutions help farmers minimize unnecessary over-spraying, thereby improving cost efficiency and optimizing resource utilization. The company's approach contributes to more sustainable agricultural practices, benefiting farmers and society as a whole.

Developer of a seed enhancement technology designed to reduce seed losses that make it hard for forestry organizations to meet government goals on tree planting. The company specializes in developing novel products that will significantly improve yield results in both the Forestry and the Agriculture sector, and technology coats seeds to absorb and retain moisture, enabling growers to increase seed germination in dry conditions.

Outfield is an agritech company based in Cambridge, UK, that specializes in providing aerial imagery and data solutions for the fruit sector. Using small unmanned drone aircraft, Outfield collects high-resolution imagery to deliver insights on orchard performance, including yield estimates and variability mapping. This precision orchard management system addresses the inefficiencies associated with traditional yield estimation methods, which often rely on limited data and can result in significant errors. By employing off-the-shelf drones and a cloud-based platform, Outfield enables growers to automate data collection and receive processed insights within 24 hours. The platform has been tested with apple and pear growers across three continents, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing productivity and profitability while minimizing environmental impact. Outfield aims to scale its operations and expand its service offerings to meet the increasing demand in the fruit farming industry, positioning itself at the forefront of the agricultural innovation landscape.

Juhudi Kilimo Company Limited is a Nairobi-based microfinance institution founded in 2004 that specializes in providing asset financing, technical assistance, and business training services to smallholder farmers and small-to-medium agro-businesses in Kenya. The company offers a diverse range of financing options, including loans for livestock such as dairy cows, goats, poultry, pigs, and other animals, as well as for fish farming. Additionally, it finances agricultural equipment like irrigation systems and energy-related machinery, along with vehicles such as motorcycles and bicycles for transporting farm goods. By focusing on loans that support agricultural activities and providing business management and financial literacy training, Juhudi Kilimo aims to enhance the livelihoods of rural farmers and empower them to create wealth through improved agricultural practices.

Illuminum Greenhouses is an Agri-Tech greenhouse and drip installation company in Kenya working with smallholder farmers to improve productivity and increase efficiency through the use of new modern technologies while bundling up other services to ensure smallholder farmers access a turn key solution.

Wefarm Limited operates a digital platform designed to facilitate communication among small-scale farmers, allowing them to share agricultural knowledge and solutions via SMS and online channels. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, with additional offices in Nairobi, Kampala, and Dar es Salaam, Wefarm connects users with one another, agribusinesses, and micro-finance institutions to enhance farming practices. The platform enables farmers to ask questions and receive crowd-sourced answers, addressing various agricultural challenges such as improving crop quality, increasing yields, and adapting to climate change. Wefarm has garnered recognition for its innovative approach, receiving several awards, including accolades from FastCompany and Google’s Impact Challenge.

Entocycle Ltd is a London-based company that specializes in producing insect-based protein for animal feed. Founded in 2014, it raises black soldier flies in an automated system designed to monitor their development and environmental conditions. By utilizing food waste from farms, factories, and the catering industry, Entocycle effectively converts organic waste into sustainable protein biomass. This approach not only provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional feed sources like soymeal and fishmeal but also addresses environmental concerns associated with conventional agriculture. The company's technology enables efficient vertical farming, allowing for large-scale production of protein with significantly reduced land and water usage. Entocycle serves various sectors, including feed suppliers, retailers, and the agricultural industry, promoting a more sustainable and resource-efficient method of livestock feeding.

Outfield is an agritech company based in Cambridge, UK, that specializes in providing aerial imagery and data solutions for the fruit sector. Using small unmanned drone aircraft, Outfield collects high-resolution imagery to deliver insights on orchard performance, including yield estimates and variability mapping. This precision orchard management system addresses the inefficiencies associated with traditional yield estimation methods, which often rely on limited data and can result in significant errors. By employing off-the-shelf drones and a cloud-based platform, Outfield enables growers to automate data collection and receive processed insights within 24 hours. The platform has been tested with apple and pear growers across three continents, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing productivity and profitability while minimizing environmental impact. Outfield aims to scale its operations and expand its service offerings to meet the increasing demand in the fruit farming industry, positioning itself at the forefront of the agricultural innovation landscape.

Aglaris is developing an automated cell culture bioreactor for the mass production of human stem cells. Aglaris produces equipment to ensure cell and tissue culture is an easy, problem-free task. By automating and controlling the cell culture processes, we can obtain cells and tissues with sufficient quality to revitalize regenerative medicine and cell therapies. The technology used by our equipment is unique and is protected by international patents.

Breedr is a productivity and marketing platform that’s transforming the livestock supply-chain.

Bionema is a leading biopesticide product testing and technology development company, specialising in chemical-free, organic crop protection. Research is focused on the development of natural products to protect crops from insect damage, reducing the use of synthetic pesticides, enhancing food security and increasing crop yields. Bionema supplies specialist bio-control products to the horticulture, turf and amenity and forestry sectors, providing training aimed at increasing the product efficacy.

HayBeeSee is introducing fundamental change to "agronomy" and farming best-practice utilising state-of-the-art robotics and AI. We are creating a novel robotics platform allowing large daily coverage as well as close proximity sensing and interaction for farmers. The world of agri-tech is fast moving towards precision agriculture & robotics, yet farmers today lack access to any real products that deliver quality data or impact on their farm at all. Meet the CropHopper®, world’s first robot designed for fast and efficient jumping across fields to scan crops, identify weeds (single leaf), aphids & other bugs, early signs of disease, tiller-count, plant count, grain-counts per head as well as to carry out mechanical weeding and spot spraying. Lightweight, jumping all season, even in growing crops. An integrated, full-season management strategy.

Axitan is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of a microalgae-production platform aimed at producing innovative and safe alternatives to conventional antibiotics in animal agriculture. By leveraging algal biotechnology, Axitan seeks to address significant challenges in the industry, including the need for sustainable and resource-efficient production methods. The company focuses on developing a library of endolysins and related products designed to target pathogens that have traditionally been managed through antibiotic supplements in animal feed. This approach not only enhances productivity and production yields but also promotes better animal welfare and environmental protection. Through its initiatives, Axitan strives to facilitate a cost-effective transition away from antibiotics in the livestock sector.

Better Origin, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, focuses on sustainable food systems through innovative insect biomass conversion technology. The company has developed two main processes for feeding insects: Metamorphosis, which can generate thousands of tons of insect meals annually, and Genesis, a data-driven engineering solution. By utilizing a network of AI-powered mini-farms, Better Origin effectively transforms excess nutrients into essential nutrients, addressing inefficiencies in the food supply chain. This approach aims to create a more sustainable and resource-efficient future, farm by farm.

AGRIinsight supports smallholder farmers in emerging markets, international agribusinesses and governmental organisations.