Articles

Defra Minister Dame Angela Eagle reaffirms commitment to Agri-Tech sector growth in first UK public appearance at World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit

In her first UK public appearance as Minister of State in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP today reaffirmed UK Government commitment to Agri-Tech sector growth, during her keynote address at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London.

Dame Angela’s speech, delivered just two weeks into her tenure, set out her vision for the future of UK food and farming, with a strong emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and cross-sector collaboration.

She said:

“This is an exciting time for the agri-tech sector. The prize is greater growth, greater profitability for our farmers, and resilient food systems in this volatile era.

“Join us, and the sector, to maximise that growth opportunity, invest and partner with our SMEs and international businesses located in the UK. Let’s work together to build a sustainable future for our food and farming systems.”

Dame Angela also shared details publicly for the first time an innovative new pilot programme; ‘AgriScale’, that will support a number of Agri-Tech businesses to address specific manufacturing challenges on their start-up to scale-up journey. This will help to drive accelerated development of new technologies and support growth of this key sector.

The AgriScale pilot represents a new cross-government partnership, powered by the Industrial Strategy and inspired by experience from the automotive sector. This partnership includes Defra, Innovate UK, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult partners, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, and Warwick Manufacturing Group.

Following her address, Dame Angela toured the summit’s exhibition and held private meetings with select industry leaders.

Tracy De Groose, CEO of William Reed - parent company of Rethink Events, which runs the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, said: “The presence of Dame Angela Eagle at this year’s summit is a powerful signal of the UK’s intent to lead on agri-tech innovation. Her address sets the stage for meaningful collaboration between government and industry at a time of unprecedented change.”