Defra Minister Dame Angela Eagle unveiled Agri-Scale at September’s World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.
AgriScale will enable agri-tech businesses to scale within the UK, strengthening the country’s advanced manufacturing capabilities and driving growth in the agri-tech sector.
By focusing on accelerating product manufacturing rather than early-stage research, AgriScale fills a critical gap in the innovation pipeline.
This helps promising technologies move from concept to market more quickly and reliably.
Solving scale-up challenges with Catapult expertise
Through the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, five businesses will receive tailored support from the Manufacturing Technology Centre and Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick.
This will address specific manufacturing challenges exemplified though carefully selected UK based companies.
This hands-on approach will accelerate the development and commercialisation of new technologies, helping to grow a globally competitive and sustainable agri-tech manufacturing base in the UK.
The challenges faced by the selected organisations range from automation scale-up and system reliability to sustainable design and flexible manufacturing, challenges widely shared across the agri-tech sector .
They reflect the realities of UK-based innovators transitioning from prototype to commercial deployment and adoption.
Championing agri-tech scale-up
Backed by the Modern Industrial Strategy and aligned with the Manufacturing Sector Plan, AgriScale draws on the successful scale-up models in the automotive sector .
This approach ensures that the UK’s agri-tech businesses have the support and expertise needed to grow and compete on the world stage.
Farming Minister Angela Eagle said:
Getting the latest technology from proof of concept to product manufacturing is vital if we’re to unlock the full potential of automation in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.
The AgriScale pilot builds on the success of the government’s Farming Innovation Programme and harnesses the UK’s world-class creativity to equip farmers with productivity boosting tech for the future.
This is about turning bold ambition into real-world impact and helping British farming to thrive.
Catalyst for growth and resilience
Andy Cureton, Director of AgriFood Systems said:
AgriScale plays a pivotal role in advancing the UK’s leadership in frontier agri-tech industries, directly aligning with national goals around innovation, sustainability, and economic growth.
It’s a key step in delivering on the UK’s ambition to lead in sustainable food production and advanced manufacturing, driving productivity, resilience, and green growth across the sector.
Further information
The five UK-based companies selected for AgriScale support are as follows.
S&A Produce
Background: S&A Produce has developed its own autonomous husbandry modular robot platform to meet the needs of its own farms and partner growers.
Challenge: Scaling up production and securing CE certification.
UPP
Background: UPP is building opportunities for novel broccoli products and essential to this is a field harvester.
Challenge: Scale up automation to meet growing UK and international demand. Support will focus on manufacturing, component optimisation, sustainability, and system design.
Dogtooth Technologies
Background: Since 2016, Dogtooth has been developing commercial robotic harvesting solutions. Their fifth-generation robots are now available.
Challenge: To unlock scale-up potential, support is needed to improve usability and reliability, develop viable maintenance strategies, and reduce failure rates.
OxDrive
Background: OxDrive designs and manufactures electric propulsion systems, called ‘e-hubs’, for off-highway applications, addressing a growing need for autonomous solutions in UK agriculture.
Challenge: Support autonomous system development aligned with test fleet adoption criteria, enabling rapid algorithm and hardware iteration in simulated environments tailored to early adopters.
Earth Rover
Background: Earth Rover develops autonomous robots for chemical-free, zero-emission, tillage-free weeding.
Challenge: Preparing for pilot build and scaling production. Support will include facility layout planning, supply chain readiness assessment, and volume ramp strategies.