As Lincolnshire continues to lead the agritech sector, the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership Food Board has been given a tour of the area’s leading agritech projects.

Last week the LEP Food Board, chaired by Mark Tinsley, toured the University of Lincoln’s Riseholme and Brayford campuses to look at the UK’s first robotic fruit farm, demonstration supermarket and robotics labs.

The visit focused on the potential to use automated systems and robotics to improve labour productivity and energy efficiency to increase competitiveness in the agrifood industry.

Martin Collison, a member of the LEP Food Board, commented: “The tour was a great success. The LEP and the Food Board is committed to supporting and championing the trailblazing work being done by the University of Lincoln and its partners in this important sector.

“The purpose of the visit was to give the Food Board a first-hand view of the work that is happening in Lincolnshire developing new technologies to strengthen the agrifood sector.

“These pioneering projects have the potential to change the sector for the better. As an area, we should be particularly proud that Lincolnshire is home to these projects.”

Twenty-one members of the Food Board attended the tour including the Greater Lincolnshire LEP Chair Ursula Lidbetter MBE and Sir Peter Kendall, Chairman of the Agricultural Development Board, both of whom also sit on the UK Food and Drink Sector Council.

The agri-food sector, which combines agricultural and food manufacturing, is one of the largest industries in Greater Lincolnshire and is one of the LEP’s six priority sectors.

Greater Lincolnshire is responsible for producing 12% of England’s food and the sector employs 75,000 people in the area.