The UK Food Valley, CERES Agri-Tech and Lincoln Institute for AgriFood Technology (LIAT) welcomed the agricultural and food team from the Danish Embassy to Lincoln in September.

The meeting included visits to the Barclays Eagle Lab and some of its tenant companies and LIAT’s engineering workshops and robotic fruit farm.  As well as meeting agri-tech start-ups, the embassy team was able to discuss current research projects focused on AI and data, sustainable fertiliser production and the use of robotics in agriculture.

With a large and progressive agricultural industry, Denmark is a natural partner for the UK, and as well as discussing technology needs and the types of investment being made in the industry, discussions focused on Denmark’s ambitions for the industry and its proposed green deal for agriculture.

It was agreed that for both countries the key objectives are to promote increased productivity and to deliver a more sustainable industry, notably in relation to carbon reduction targets. There is real potential to collaborate on applied research in areas including digital technologies, AI, automation and low carbon farming systems.

Looking forward, the UK Food Valley team will look for opportunities to link Danish partners into the AgTech Global programme run by Lincoln and with CERES Agri-Tech, as well as opportunities for further networking visits and events. Any businesses that would like to be involved in future links with Denmark should contact the UK Food Valley team.