Agri-Tech

Telford has a rich heritage in manufacturing, engineering, and agriculture providing a vital foundation to help steer its economy in interesting and innovative new directions; leveraging the UK world leading excellence of Harper Adams University.

The Department of International Trade has recognised Telford as a high potential opportunity for new investment within the Agri-Tech sector, working in partnership with Harper Adams University.

As part of supporting development within the Agri-Tech sector, we have released a new Agri-Tech business park in Newport called Ni.PARK, which is a collaborative exchange between industry and academia. Ni.PARK seeks to unlock growth and exploit Argi-Tech innovations to solve real world issues, focusing on R&D, Robotics, Big Data, Photonic and Synthetic Biology.

Industry Overview

Globally, UK agriculture is one of the most productive in the terms of yield per hectare, as such we are seeking to combine the strengths of our advanced engineering sector with the strengths of our food and drink sector. The West Midlands region provides an opportunity for incorporating a clear customer bases of support, of over three hundred food and one hundred beverage manufacturers, employing almost 39,000 employees.

To cope with increasing demand for food and pressure on land, technology is revolutionising agriculture, and Harper Adams in leading the field in the global food challenge.

Telford offers a well-established advanced engineering supply that can be leveraged in agriculture by technology companies working in partnership with the world leading experts of land based agricultural technology, Harper Adams University, which will stimulate emerging technologies. Ni.PARK will create an enterprise and science park providing space for a range of high-tech firms, including start-ups, smaller businesses and larger occupiers and form part of an Agri-Tech cluster. Supported by the National Centre for Precision Farming and the Advanced Engineering Innovation Centre at Harper Adams.

Key Stats

• Agriculture contributes £9 billion to the UK economy, and underpins the UK’s £26 billion food and drink manufacturing sector
• Agri-Tech is a fast-growing sector with global markets forecast to reach £217bn by 2021
• Potential UK need for robots in food and drink of between 4670 and 12670 units.
• Harper Adams University is the recipient of the most prestigious honour open to UK Universities – Queen’s Anniversary Prize – for its work in innovations in agricultural engineering

CASE STUDY: Harper Adams University -Gateway for agri-tech innovation
 

The future of farming is being shaped in Telford & Wrekin thanks to strong links between the borough’s world-leading university and a fast-growing Agri-Tech sector. 
 

It’s not hard to see why Harper Adams University is regarded as one of Telford & Wrekin borough’s greatest assets.

Aside from being ranked the UK’s top modern university six years in a row in The Times Good University Guide, it was recently crowned the best in the world for its reputation among employers in the agriculture and forestry industries.

Harper Adams prides itself on giving students real-world experience and an opportunity to innovate. In its own words, it’s ‘part laboratory, part invention hub and part farm’ – reference to the fact that it is set on a 494-hectare working farm near Newport.

Some 98% of students go into degree-level employment after graduating.

One of its fastest growing areas is Agri-Tech and a rising number of graduates are taking advantage of the opportunities found locally to carve out a career in developing innovative, sustainable approaches to farming and food production.

Click here to read the full case study.