Helping agriculture move towards achieving net zero emissions
UK and Canadian companies were brought together through online and in person events to identify and build project concepts in sustainable agriculture.
The seven winning UK entities are: Arden Biotechnology, Devenish, Precision Decisions, Airborne Robotics, RAFT Solutions, Clarity Biosolutions, and RS AQUA.
Their respective Canadian partners are TrustBIX, Mara Renewables Corporation, JCA Industries, Société pour l’information industrielle (SII Canada), Bow Valley Genetics, Sona Nanotech, and Innovasea Marine Systems.
The Canadian partners will receive funding support through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
The competition ran in the first half of 2020 and aims to boost international cooperation and business growth, by mobilizing cross border resources and expertise to combat climate change.
The winning projects had to demonstrate a clear plan to:
- improve productivity
- increase sustainability
- help move towards achieving net zero emissions by 2040
- show market awareness
- develop a commercial plan
Katrina Hayter, challenge director for the Transforming Food Production program, UKRI, said: “UKRI’s UK-Canada competition is an important initiative that helps UK businesses create strong international networks, access expertise and develop international market opportunities. The UK companies and their Canadian partners are working on an exciting array of projects to integrate cutting-edge technology into everyday farming techniques that could help both the UK and Canadian agriculture [sectors] improve productivity and sustainability and ultimately make our respective agricultural systems more climate friendly.”
Mitch Davies, president, National Research Council of Canada, said international collaboration is key to SME growth. "These collaborative partnerships provide accelerated access to new markets and global value chains, positioning Canadian businesses to compete globally.”
Photo credit: GettyImages/metamorworks
