Morning, Thursday, 11th December 2025
Online
This conference will assess next steps for technology, innovation, and AI in UK agriculture. Planned discussion focuses on strategic considerations for funding and investment, supporting adoption, improving productivity, and widening the use of effective practices across the agri-tech sector.
Policy, funding & targeted support
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider priorities in light of recent developments, including agri-tech’s designation as a key growth sector in the Industrial Strategy and measures signalled through the Spending Review. Delegates will assess the balance and targeting of future support amid adjustments to departmental budgets and farm-related reliefs, and how best to sustain innovation under continuing financial pressures.
Adoption across farm types, commercialisation & skills
We also expect discussion to draw on wider policy developments, including the Government’s Food Strategy and the forthcoming 25-Year Farming Roadmap - with innovation designated a central role in achieving long-term aims around food production, environmental stewardship, and sector sustainability. The planned agenda will look at strategy for putting in place conditions needed to scale innovation, including commercialisation support, routes to adoption for a wider range of farm types, and engagement with farmers facing constraints around cost and reliability.
Wider issues around skills, workforce capacity, and digital infrastructure will also be examined.
Uptake, enablers & impact of policy changes
Approaches to accelerating the uptake of innovation at scale will be discussed - from AI and robotics to precision breeding techniques such as gene-edited crop varieties - as well as routes to putting in place the necessary capacity, infrastructure and assurance to support wider deployment. Attendees will also consider implications of recent policy changes, such as adjustments to inheritance tax and the extension of the seasonal worker scheme, for long-term planning across the agri-food system.
Data, AI, governance & public engagement
Further sessions will look at developing the role of data and digital technologies in enabling more targeted, efficient, and resilient agricultural systems. Discussion is expected on options for shared frameworks to support data-driven tools, the integration of AI into crop and livestock monitoring, and the infrastructure needed to support effective use. We also expect discussion on how to promote confidence in the use of emerging technologies, including approaches to transparency, data governance, and public engagement.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- policy and funding:
- Spending Review 2025, Industrial Strategy, and Food Strategy
- aligning agri-tech funding with 25-Year Farming Roadmap - coherence across funding streams and innovation programmes
- assessing ADOPT, FIP, and FETF support and long-term targeting - implications of inheritance tax changes and departmental budgets
- investment and commercialisation:
- Farming Innovation Investor Partnerships and National Wealth Fund - supporting rollout of proven technologies
- investor confidence and revenue model risks - pathways for commercialisation and scale-up across different farm types
- innovation and regulation:
- addressing challenges in bringing products to market - use of Regulatory Innovation Office and sandboxes
- adapting regulation for AI, robotics, and crop treatments - precision breeding under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 - assurance and certification for wider deployment
- farmer-led adoption: widening on-farm trials and peer-to-peer exchange - routes to adoption for smaller and diverse farm types - improving access for farmers facing cost and reliability constraints
- data and infrastructure: interoperable data systems and remote sensing - frameworks for data use, ownership, privacy, and benefit-sharing - rural connectivity and digital infrastructure
- AI use case assessment: yield optimisation and input management - crop and livestock monitoring - managing biosecurity and supply chain risks - improving AI tool reliability and transparency
- workforce skills:
- building AI and data capability - integrating digital skills into education and training
- issues around addressing labour shortages through robotics and automation - interaction with seasonal worker scheme
- environmental tech: advancing net zero and biodiversity goals - measuring environmental benefit relative to output - precision techniques to improve soil, water, and energy efficiency
- public confidence: transparency and assurance on automation and biotechnology - earning trust in AI and gene-editing - clear communication of benefits, risks, and evidence
