British Berry Growers is among the industry partners joining a £7.1 million investment in robotics adoption across the UK agri-food sector,

The move is aimed at helping growers translate technological advances into practical, commercially viable solutions.

The organisation will work with the University of Lincoln’s new HARVEST robotics adoption hub, which has secured £4.8m in funding through Innovate UK’s Robotics Adoption programme, part of the UKRI IS8 Advanced Manufacturing Programme.

The hub is one of eight selected from 74 applications nationwide. Based at the university’s Riseholme Park campus, it will give businesses access to robotics research, testing facilities and industry expertise to help accelerate the development and adoption of automation across agriculture and food manufacturing.

For berry production, the partnership provides an opportunity to evaluate how robotics can address operational challenges while supporting the people responsible for growing and harvesting crops.

Moving robotics from development to deployment

Robotics offers potential solutions to some of the pressures facing growers, including the need to improve productivity and strengthen the resilience of domestic food production. However, translating technological capability into reliable performance on farms requires testing in real operating conditions, alongside an understanding of the technical and commercial barriers to implementation.

Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said: “We are delighted to be part of the University of Lincoln’s new HARVEST robotics adoption hub and welcome this investment in the future of British food production.

“Working directly with growers is essential to developing technology that can deliver practical benefits on farms. This partnership will provide valuable opportunities to test and refine robotics in real growing conditions, helping overcome the technical and commercial challenges that can stand in the way of adoption.”

The emphasis on real-world testing reflects a wider challenge for agricultural automation: solutions must work within the practical constraints of commercial production, rather than simply demonstrate technical performance in controlled environments.

For growers, the value of robotics will depend on whether technologies can operate reliably, integrate with existing processes and deliver benefits that justify the investment required.

Test facilities target adoption barriers

HARVEST will bring together robotics developers, agri-food businesses and research specialists to support the development, validation and demonstration of technologies across the supply chain.

Its facilities will include a dedicated robot test track at Riseholme, backed by £500,000 of the funding, alongside industry-led Living Labs designed to support testing and demonstration in practical settings.

A separate £1 million Acceleration Fund will provide support for agri-food robotics businesses across the UK. Companies will be able to apply to HARVEST for assistance in overcoming specific challenges that might otherwise prevent their solutions from being adopted.

The hub’s industry partners include robotics developers Saga Robotics, Dogtooth Technologies, Dynium and JABAS AI, alongside Cranswick, B-Hive Innovations, Dyson Farming Research and British Berry Growers. Barclays Eagle Labs, Agri-TechE and Bishop Burton College will contribute expertise in commercialisation, sector development and training.

This collaborative approach is intended to address more than the engineering challenges involved in developing robots. Commercial viability, regulatory requirements and workforce considerations can all influence whether a technology progresses from trials to routine use.

Supporting the workforce and long-term resilience

British Berry Growers has stressed that robotics adoption should complement the people working in the sector, rather than be treated as an immediate replacement for the agricultural workforce.

Marston said: “Our people remain essential to British berry production. Developing reliable, commercially viable robotics takes time, and this investment is an important step towards technology that can support our workforce and help growers build more productive, resilient businesses over the longer term.”

For berry growers, the next stage will be to establish which technologies can deliver measurable benefits under the conditions of commercial production. Access to testing facilities and direct collaboration between growers and developers could help reduce uncertainty around performance and implementation.

The investment does not, in itself, establish how quickly individual robotic systems will be deployed across British berry farms. Its significance lies in creating a framework for evaluating technologies, addressing adoption barriers and building the evidence needed to support commercial decisions.

As pressure on food production and supply-chain resilience continues, the ability to move robotics from research into practical farm applications will be an important measure of the programme’s success.