CALL FOR FUNDING:
OPEN
APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED FOR:
LARGE PROJECT AWARDS.
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS: 12:00 NOON (GMT) ON THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2017.
Author: Andrew Benton
STFC Newton Agri-Tech Fund:
Network+ Open Innovation (Sandpit) Workshop
Call for expressions of interest
This very successful workshop has ended – we funded a range of new initiatives to support the work of the Science and Technology Backyard network.
Fully-funded places are available to attend a workshop in China to develop and secure funding for proof-of-concept research on the application of space science and related technologies to support Chinese Agriculture. The workshop will be held on 5-8 November 2017, and we expect to inform successful applicants on 2nd October.
Details and an application form are available here: November Workshop Announcement and Call for Interest
The Workshop will develop and fund new UK-China initiatives that use satellite-enabled technologies to address the following:
- A system to link satellite data for decision making and resulting recommendations to farmers
- A village-level management information system that uses satellite and UAV-derived data for field-specific precision crop management
- A system to delineate management zones, possibly using satellite remote sensing images
- Robotic systems for grafting seedlings
- County-level strategies and technologies for precision crop management
UK and China attendees will be invited to attend based on their capacity and interest to contribute to achieving these key aims.
The Agritech in China Network funds ten new projects
The Agritech in China Network is delighted to announce the ten successful applicants of our first round of project calls. Five Pathfinder projects and five Proof of Concept projects were approved – each one bringing together unique UK and Chinese expertise to develop and test ideas to solve some of the many problems that both countries’ agriculture sectors face. They range from in situ testing of capsule machines for checking irrigation systems, to applying remote sensing techniques for monitoring potato crop health.
With the UK and China officially in a “Golden Age” of collaboration, and as both nations face similar challenges to increasing the productivity and sustainability of their agricultural systems, albeit on different scales, new UK-China agricultural technology partnerships offer opportunities that can contribute to improving the health and nutrition of a quarter of the world’s population, and to the sustainability of the environments. The UK’s establishment of four Agritech centres – Agrimetrics, which covers big data; the Agriculture Engineering Precision Innovation centre (Agri-EPI); the Centre for Crop health and Protection (CHAP) and; the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) – is a major commitment to boosting the UK’s capacity to improve farming practice, boost inward investment and develop commercial opportunities for agricultural businesses in these sector-leading areas. China is investing heavily in agricultural innovation, seeking to improve environmental sustainability of its production systems and improve the quality and traceability of its food products, whilst grappling with the challenges of a rapidly urbanising population.
The Agritech in China Newton Network runs regular calls for project proposals. Proposals may be for Pathfinders (primarily for people exchange), Proof of Concept (primarily for in situ development and testing), and large projects (primarily to take a proven solution and apply it in a broader real-farm context). The next call will be issued in April.
New projects
Pathfinder projects
- Applying UK weather risk analysis expertise to China viniculture – incorporating data sets into GIS platform for wine (Climate wine consulting Ltd. (UK) with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (China)).
- Production of a report on the potential of capsule inspection technology for irrigation systems in China (University of Exeter (UK) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (China)).
- Stubble fire detection – production of a crop residue distribution map and feasibility study (Kings College London (UK) and 21st Century Aerospace Technology Co Ltd. (China)).
- Technical and economic feasibility studies on the potential of the Internet of things to transform after-sales service of hay-baling machines (Liverpool John Moores University (UK) and Yulong Machinery Ltd (China)).
- Development of a roadmap for big data best practices (University of Kent (UK) and Henan University (China)).
Proof of Concept projects
- Proof of concept and investigation of feasibility of an intelligent irrigation system (Loughborough University (UK) and Jiangsu University (China)).
- Development of a novel automated big-data driven approach for crop disease detection (Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) and the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (China)).
- Scoping the development of a ‘Crop Intelligence System’ to provide integrated EO solutions to the Science and Technology Backyards (RSK ADAS Ltd (UK) with China Agriculture University (China)).
- Application of multispectral remote sensing techniques developed in the UK to help with the development of yield forecasting systems and early blight detection of potato crops in China (National Institute of Agricultural Botany and Cranfield University (UK) with China Center for Resources Satellite Date & Application (CCRSDA) and Beijing Yagro Navitech (China)).
- Boosting the exchange of robotics technology for the safe and efficient harvest of fruits and vegetable crops grown in glasshouses and plastic tunnels. (University of Plymouth (UK) and Sunqiao and Shanghai Jiaotong University (China)).
Sino-UK Crop Pest and Disease Forecasting and Management Joint Laboratory
Partners from the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Rural Technology Development Centre (CTRDC), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Rothamsted Research and many others recently signed into existence the Sino-UK Crop Pest and Disease Forecasting and Management Joint Laboratory, under the directorship of Professor Huang Wenjiang of RADI. More….
The ceremony was followed by a workshop for the CABI and RADI-managed Integrating Advanced Earth Observation and Environmental Information for Sustainable Management of Crop Pests and Diseases project, one of our Agri-Tech in China projects.
New agreement to boost UK-China partnerships in Agri-Tech
Innovate UK and China’s Rural Technology Development Centre have signed an MoU to help grow new UK-China partnerships in the Agri-Tech sector
Read the official blog report from the UK Embassy to China here
Great Britain has been a leader of agricultural innovation for centuries. From Jethro Tull’s horse-drawn soil tills and seed drills of the early 18th century, Lawes’s new chemical fertilisers in the 19th, and the coordinated development of new varieties of crops and new breeds of livestock in the 20th, technological innovations have improved the productivity and sustainability of Britain’s agriculture. Today, the world will need much food in the next 20-30 years to meet the needs of its increasing, and increasingly affluent, population. Finding more efficient, productive and sustainable ways of meeting that need is essential, and innovating and applying new agricultural technologies will be an important way of achieving this goal.
On 5th November in the ancient city of Xi’an in western China, Innovate UK and the China Rural Technology Development Centre (CRTDC) singed an MoU to boost collaboration in the Agri-Tech sector, which will develop new partnerships to solve problems both countries face when trying to deliver more sustainable and integrated food production systems. The signing was the culmination of the UK-China Agri-Tech Innovation Policy Roundtable, which brought together major Agri-Tech support and development agencies from China and the UK, including the Agri-Tech Department of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Intellectual Property Office, and UK Agri-Tech specialists from the Department for International Trade, the UK-China Sustainable Innovation Network (SAIN), the Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute and Rothamsted Research. The commitment on both sides was impressive, and the applause after the signing was heartfelt and long-lasting.
There are many ways modern technologies can be applied in agriculture. One very successful example given at the meeting is the now well-established use of electronic monitoring of cattle from birth in Northern Ireland, an initiative that has already seen consumer confidence boom and helped farmers improve livestock management. It was fitting, therefore that the UK’s keynote address was given by Michelle McIlveen MLA, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the Northern Ireland government. Dr Jia Dingjun, Director General of CTRDC, offered a fascinating perspective on China’s Agri-Tech development.
I have just been appointed to manage the Science and Technology Facilities Council-funded, Rothamsted Research-run, “Agri-Tech in China, Newton Network +” programme, and so for me the Policy Roundtable and the Agri-Tech Innovation Forum that followed were my first opportunities to get to know some of the key players in the sector, grasp the challenges that Agri-Tech seeks to address, and envision the possibilities of new bilateral partnerships. Whilst the Roundtable was formal and its outcome already agreed, the Forum was a networking event and also very helpful, with many agencies and companies from China and the UK giving succinct presentations encapsulating their experiences and achievements. This was followed by a matchmaking session, where the practicalities of the possibilities offered could be addressed, and new nascent partnerships developed.
The MoU provides a strong and supportive framework under which the Network + can increase its support to the Agri-Tech sector, and grow new academic and commercial partnerships between the UK and China. The opportunities are numerous, and the Network + looks forward to fostering new Agri-Tech initiatives for the good of Britain, China and the world.
Agri-Tech in China Newton Network
The Agri-Tech in China Newton Network develops innovative research, development and commercialisation partnerships between the UK and China in modern agriculture. Our work aims help the UK and China address the critical challenges affecting modern agriculture, and develop innovative solutions that are appropriate for both the United Kingdom and China.
Agri-Tech in China: Newton Network 