Creating a shared vision for the agri-food sector€¦ · New technologies and approaches, such as genetics and precision farming practices, could increase agricultural productivity

June 2018

How the UK and Canada can stay competitive by working together

Creating a shared vision for the agri-food sector

Contents

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 6

Roadmaps 9Improving the food manufacturing chain 10

Genomics and breeding to tackle pests and disease 12

Antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use 14

Collection of biological data 16

Diagnostics and sensor technologies 18

Understanding soil health 20

Improving feed efficiency 22

Data standards, better connectivity and analytics 24

Conclusions & recommendations 26

References 27

Creating a shared vision for the agri-food sector | Innovate UK | 3

Executive Summary

Agricultural productivity must rise to meet the challenge of feeding a global population of 9 billion by 2050. New technologies such as precision farming and genetics could help to increase productivity and reduce the considerable environmental impact of food production.

The Canadian agriculture and food sectors were worth C$108.1 billion in 2014 and employed more than 2.3 million people. The UK agri-food sector is worth £109 billion a year and employs 4 million. There are significant opportunities for both countries to increase exports into a rapidly growing global market.

UK and Canada working together

The UK and Canada have both identified the agri-food sector as of strategic economic importance and made significant investments in agri-food research over the last few years. Government investment in agricultural research and innovation in Canada in 2015-16 was worth more than C$1 billion. Innovate UK has overseen investments of £160 million since 2010, and £80 million has been invested in UK agri-tech centres.

Innovate UK has recognised the potential for both the UK and Canada to benefit economically by working together to meet the challenges facing the agri-food sector. A mission from the UK to Canada was organised in early 2017 to establish international connections. This was followed up with an online workshop in June 2017 that established a number of priority themes of mutual interest:

- genomics and advanced breeding technologies

- precision farming systems

- diagnostics and sensors

- big data

- disease and pest management

- food manufacturing and quality

The Canadian High Commission hosted a workshop in September 2017 instigated in the UK by Innovate UK and attended by delegates from the UK and Canada. It developed these themes further into a series of roadmaps based on:

- improving the food manufacturing chain

- genomics and breeding to tackle pests and disease

- antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use

- phenotyping: collection of biological data

- diagnostics and sensor technologies

- understanding soil health

- improving feed efficiency

- data standards, better connectivity and analytics

4 | Innovate UK | Creating a shared vision for the agri-food sector

Conclusion and recommendations

The 2017 activities have established new partnerships between the UK and Canada and demonstrated a shared appetite for further work to meet challenges and goals. The work has identified a number of shared issues including:

- a lack of understanding across the sector of value and of the benefits of addressing challenges

- ensuring the research community is focused on solving the challenges faced by farmers

- a need for a holistic view

- a need to invest in skills and to import technology from other sectors

- the importance of big data and diagnostics and sensors

- a need for strategic and financial support

Increased collaboration between the UK and Canada in agri-tech will help both countries meet the challenges facing the sector and take advantage of the global opportunities. To achieve this, partners should:

- develop new organisational and professional relationships within and between the UK and Canada, for example, establish ‘information exchange forums’ between national partners

- create working groups or targeted focus groups to develop theme ideas, opportunities and project proposals

- create cross-cutting theme groups (such as diagnostics and sensors and big data), which could be taken forward through a bilateral special interest group

- use roadmaps to explore development opportunities and resourced work programmes

- explore further missions between the UK and Canada based around themes in the roadmaps

- integrate further agri-food workstreams in the UK and Canada into continued development of greater and new partnerships and establish an annual conference to provide an overview of work across the key sectors

- continue to develop organisational profiling to create a better picture of the sector and opportunities for further collaborations, including reaching out to a wider audience with this report and the roadmaps


Agricultural science and technology is one of the world’s fastest growing and most exciting markets. Agricultural productivity must increase to meet the needs of more than 9 billion people by 2050. This global challenge means increasing demand for land, energy, water, feed, fertilisers and other resources. Agriculture is responsible for almost a quarter of all global greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies and approaches, such as genetics and precision farming practices, could increase agricultural productivity and reduce the environmental impact of food production.

The UK and Canadian agri-food sectors are well established and vital to the economic welfare of both countries. The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sectors were worth C$108.1 billion in 2014, or 6.6% of GDP. The sector employs more than 2.3 million people and accounts for 1 in every 8 Canadian jobs. Canadian exports grew by 12% on 2013 levels to reach C$51.5 billion in 2014, maintaining the country’s position as the world’s 5th largest agri-food exporter [1].

The UK agri-food sector is valued at approximately £109 billion a year. It employs 4 million (13% of the working population) [2]. UK exports of £20.1 billion (feed, food and drinks) represent just 2.3% of the global agri-food export market [3].

There are significant opportunities to grow exports from both Canada and the UK, particularly in agri-tech innovations and high-value food and drink products of provenance.

Opportunities for the UK and Canada

Innovate UK has identified agri-tech as an area where the UK and Canada could work together for mutual benefit. A UK mission to Canada, an online partnering workshop and a two-day roadmap workshop in 2017 explored the potential in more detail. This report summarises a two-day roadmap workshop held in London in early September 2017. Delegates were also challenged to develop specific propositions for UK-Canada agri-food partnerships, and some of these are presented alongside the roadmaps.

No one individual or organisation owns these roadmaps, propositions and wider activities. We recommend individuals, companies, organisations, governments and funding bodies review them and identify opportunities for new collaborations and partnerships in the years ahead.

UK and Canadian investment in agri-tech

The UK and Canada have both made significant recent investments in agri-food research.

Innovate UK has overseen £90 million of funding since 2010 for industry-led collaborative projects through the Sustainable Agriculture & Food Innovation Platform. A further £70 million from 2013 through the Agri-Tech Catalyst supported a more open programme.

The UK government has invested £80 million in 4 UK agri-tech centres with cutting-edge capability in big data and agrimetrics (www.agrimetrics.co.uk), agricultural engineering and precision innovation capability (www.agri-epicentre.com), crop health and protection (www.chap-solutions.co.uk) and innovation excellence in livestock (www.cielivestock.co.uk). A further £90 million is to be invested in transforming food production under the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Introduction


The Canadian federal government invested C$705 million in agricultural research and innovation in 2015-16, and a further C$440 million was invested by provincial ministries of agriculture. Canada spent 0.046% of its GDP on agricultural innovation in 2015, the 7th highest in the world [4]. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) leads federal efforts in the growth and development of the agriculture sector. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC), through its aquatic and crop research programme, and the federal research funding organisations (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, Genome Canada and CFI) also play an important role in research and development and innovation. Innovation loans and public-private partnerships are becoming increasingly popular as an investment vehicle in Canada.

The UK-Canada roadmap workshop explored how these national programmes could be the basis of partnerships for mutual benefit.

Growing a shared interest

The UK and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding in 2017 that promises to improve bilateral co-operation in complementary areas of innovation and entrepreneurship including in agricultural technologies.

The ‘UK strategy for agricultural technologies’ [5] sets out how the agri-tech sector will work to maximise best practice and knowledge transfer by increasing coordination and integration of on-farm demonstrations, and the use of demonstration and monitor farms. It also sets out the scale of the commercial opportunity for trade and inward investment – for example, the global market for agricultural inputs, such as feed, seed and fertiliser, is worth more than US$355 billion and continues to grow rapidly.

Canada’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, chaired by Dominic Barton and usually known as The Barton Report [6], identified agriculture as an area where Canada had the potential to raise itself from the fifth to the second largest agricultural exporter in the world. This growth will rely heavily on agricultural innovation to drive productivity gains. The 2017 federal budget targets growth in Canada’s agri-food exports from C$55 billion in 2015 to C$75 billion by 2025.

Energising the UK-Canada agri-food sectors

Innovate UK set out a programme of activities during 2017 to explore and develop partnerships between the UK and Canadian agri-food sectors.

International missions in March from the UK to Canada created connections. An online interactive workshop was held in June 2017 to test interest in a number of thematic areas. These were developed in more detail through the two-day workshop in London in September 2017, hosted by the High Commission of Canada. The workshop was developed and facilitated by 100%Open, who were commissioned to produce this report by Innovate UK, with help from those who took part.

The London workshop aimed to:

- develop priority theme areas for industry-led research

- develop a roadmap with key actions

- establish new bilateral partnerships between the UK and Canada


The roadmaps

More than 50 people from the UK and Canada took part in the June 2017 online workshop. They identified 6 shared topics of interest between the two countries:

- genomics and advanced breeding technologies

- precision farming systems

- diagnostics and sensors

- big data

- disease and pest management

- food manufacturing and quality

The two-day roadmapping workshop in September was attended by 65 delegates, 20 from Canada and 45 from the UK and elsewhere. They included representatives from large and small businesses, researchers, funders and policymakers.

Attendees identified and clarified issues and challenges before selecting themes and topics that were then refined to those selected for the roadmaps. They also outlined a series of business propositions to demonstrate the breadth of potential commercial opportunities.


Food manufacturing is dominated by low-tech, small-scale producers and has a poor image compared to other manufacturing sectors (such as automotive or aerospace).

Fragmentation and poor connectivity between actors are seen as a significant issue, and there is evidence of a silo mentality and of institutional and regulatory barriers.

This roadmap emphasises the need to better understand customers and develop a shared understanding of the whole value chain and the actors within it. There was a strong appetite for UK-Canada collaboration.

The roadmap identifies key steps towards a strategic alliance or partnership focused on SMEs. The first is to establish a partnership and understanding of the supply chain, followed by a communications and information campaign to overcome barriers and address industry issues.

The partnership could also consider encouraging enabling technologies and approaches such as lean manufacturing and learning from other sectors. There should be an emphasis on the technologies that help break down the barriers identified. The partnership should concentrate on building transformational solutions with the underlying theme of “adding value to food”.

Improving the food manufacturing chain

Business opportunity: one traceConsumer confidence in the provenance of food products is an issue in both the UK and Canada.

This project could bring together UK experience and technology in traceability and legislation with Canadian expertise in sales and export. Both countries have good reputations in food safety and obtaining export licences. Traceability would integrate the system from the farmer to the consumer.

New technology would be used to link the whole supply chain to ensure a flow of data, increase transparency and reduce fraud.


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There are a number of challenges and barriers facing genomics and breeding technologies including the length of time it takes to find solutions and the need for long-term strategic funding. These new technologies often struggle to gain public and regulatory acceptance and there are challenges in proving their value and relevance.

This roadmap emphasises the need for a long-term view in all aspects and approaches to achieving better disease resistance – not just through breeding. A long-term view should be adopted by governments and funders too. Sustained investment is likely to be needed in order to stay ahead of the problem.

The first priority is to jointly achieve a better and detailed understanding of what needs to be done in key areas such as disease modelling. There was agreement on the desirability of collectively identifying and agreeing what technology currently exists and what needs to be adapted or developed.

The focus of this roadmap was on genetics rather than other methods of creating resistance – but the importance of a multi-faceted strategy was agreed. A high-level roadmap for gene/genotype/microbiome and pathogen discovery and understanding was presented and key technologies (such as cheap and accurate gene editing technology and delivery systems) were identified.

Genomics and breeding to tackle pests and disease

Collaboration is a key feature of the roadmap (in particular between industry and research) but it was acknowledged that intellectual property issues would have to be addressed (in the industry as a whole – not just between the partners). Mechanisms for connecting industry and research do exist but need to be strengthened and greater focus on the impact of research will help. Although impact would really be seen only in the long term (5 years plus) there is a need to start the process now.

Business opportunity: sustained plant disease and pest resistance

Farmers in the UK and Canada need a constant source of solutions to diseases and pests of crops.

This project suggests using conventional and new technologies, such as genome editing, to ensure the continuous delivery of resistant plants and to avoid duplication of research resources.

The project requires a consortium of industry and researchers to define a long-term roadmap and for funding to be aligned to it.



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The global and long-term nature of disease and pest management mean most of the challenges, barriers and solutions identified in this roadmap will take time to address and are also likely to change in nature over time.

Public perception is largely influenced by negative media and will take time to change – as will attitudes of some groups within the industry itself. The cost of these technologies needs to fall to improve industry take-up.

The roadmap proposes that a longer term solution may lie in the manipulation of the microbiome – but there are a number of steps that need to be taken before this can even be attempted. It will be necessary first to collect evidence regarding the link between antimicrobial resistance/antimicrobial use and human health.

The importance of addressing intellectual property and licensing arrangements was raised. Rapid diagnostics was seen as a key enabler. The roadmap also identified a number of longer term corrective and preventative measures, including investment in particular technologies. Ultimately, greater value needs to be placed on food safety by both consumers and the industry.

Antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use

Business opportunity: global initiative on resistance

There are gaps in public understanding of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use and a need to build public policies and strategies based on evidence.

This project proposes a UK-Canada-led global centre of excellence to develop rapid diagnostics and decision-support systems, targeted diagnostics, and better biological systems.

New approaches could save money for producers, increase revenue for pharma companies and improve human and animal health.


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year

s)


This roadmap describes steps towards achieving better understanding, development and implementation of phenotyping technologies and practices.

It acknowledges that data acquisition techniques are different for plants and animals but contends that there are many common areas and that data analysis techniques are evolving and in some aspects converging. Common systems between plants and animals are becoming possible and could provide simpler, more cost-effective solutions in the medium and long term.

Standardisation is key. There are already positive changes in practice – for example, on-farm data collection is beginning to happen but is currently expensive. If the cost can be brought down, then good practice will become more widespread. Multi-layered data collection and analysis is also becoming available. However, the sheer volume of data and the cost of its management is a significant challenge.

The roadmap recommends the investigation and promotion of technology transfer from other sectors. For example, using sensors and other technologies developed for the geotechnical industry for above and below-ground (soil) analysis on farms. People with relevant skills should also be encouraged to enter the industry. For example, data analysts and computer scientists should be encouraged to work in the sector rather than enter other industries such as finance.

The roadmap acknowledges that a number of initiatives and funding are already in place so this is fertile ground for further collaboration. A workshop on data standardisation was suggested as an important first step.

Phenotyping: collection of biological data

Business opportunity: farming carbon

Farmers are facing increasing costs due to carbon taxes. This could be offset with carbon credits if farmers could demonstrate how much carbon their farms were capturing through sustainable practices.

Solutions could include inexpensive testing of ground conditions and use of drones, cameras and data generated by satellite technologies.

This solution may require changes to regulations. It will also need investment in monitoring equipment and access to satellite data, drones, soil sensors, software, and data processing.


Stan

dard

ise

data

acqu

isiti

on

Art

icul

atin

g be

nefit

s.

Retu

rn o

n in

vest

men

t to

farm

ers

– ea

rly

enga

gem

ent

Diffi

cult

y in

exp

loiti

ngpl

astic

ity

of p

heno

typi

ngfo

r res

ilien

t cro

ps a

ndliv

esto

ck

UK

/Can

ada

data

exc

hang

e /

stan

dard

isat

ion

& tr

ansl

atio

n fr

omin

vest

men

t in

phen

otyp

ing

faci

litie

s

Incr

ease

farm

er in

volv

emen

t in

data

acqu

isiti

on m

anag

emen

t pro

ject

s: F

orex

ampl

e sa

telli

te fa

rms

(Agr

i-EPI

)

How

toeff

ectiv

ely

mea

sure

effici

ent

nutr

ient

use

Abi

otic

stre

ss

Diffi

cult

y of

usi

ng s

oil

sens

ors

to m

easu

reun

derg

roun

d va

riatio

ns

Aut

onom

ous

data

proc

essi

ng a

ndau

tono

mou

s co

llect

ion

Skill

s –

expl

oita

tion

and

com

pute

r sci

entis

ts’

recr

uitm

ent i

nto

agric

ultu

re

Expa

ndin

g ph

enot

ypin

g to

farm

pr

oduc

tion

syst

ems t

o im

prov

e ge

noty

pe,

envi

ronm

ent a

nd m

anag

emen

t (G

xExM

) an

d an

alys

is o

f GxE

xM u

nder

stan

ding

.

Dat

a vo

lum

e - s

tatic

stor

age

– ch

alle

ngin

gco

mpu

ter s

yste

ms

Cost

-eff

ectiv

e da

taco

llect

ion

in fa

rmer

field

s

Rapi

d –

high

reso

lutio

n

soil

sam

plin

g

Dee

p le

arni

ng/a

rtifi

cial

inte

llige

nce

syst

ems’

app

licat

ion

into

agri-

phen

otyp

ing

data

acq

uisi

tion

Ado

ptin

g m

edic

al d

evic

es in

toph

enot

ypin

g fo

r ear

ly d

isea

se

diag

nosi

s in

live

stoc

k

Kin

etic

s/dy

nam

ics

ofgr

owth

rate

s in

pla

nts/

anim

als

Exte

ndin

g da

ta a

cqui

sitio

n to

non

-vis

ible

phen

otyp

e tr

aits

- da

ta th

at b

reed

ers

cann

ot n

orm

ally

acc

ess

How

can

trac

kers

be

used

for

bene

fit o

nliv

esto

ck

How

to tr

ack

dise

ase

spre

ad/r

esis

tanc

em

easu

res/

trai

ts/p

heno

type

s ea

rly

Min

ing

tech

nolo

gies

m

ay b

e tr

ansf

erab

le

for s

oil a

naly

sis

Tran

slat

ing

neut

ron/

sync

hrot

ron

tech

nolo

gies

for u

nder

grou

nd te

stph

enot

ypin

g in

the

field


Shor

t (le

ss th

an 2

yea

rs)

Med

ium

(2–5

yea

rs)

Long

(+5

year

s)


This roadmap addresses fragmentation in the diagnostics and sensors industry and the belief that it is not addressing the needs of the agri-food sector. Diagnostics and sensor technologies are often seen as a cost and not part of the value chain. The diagnostics and sensors industry also tends to have a focus on technology rather than on benefit or impact to end-users.

The roadmap seeks to demonstrate and prove value to all stakeholders, technology developers and end-users in the agri-food sector.

It is predominantly technology-focused and identifies a number of trade-offs to be regularly addressed – such as volume against accuracy and value and cost against reliability. It is possible however to identify some clear gaps where more work/technology is needed – such as the maintenance of quality.

Diagnostics and sensor technologies can support the sector’s ability to address long-term challenges such as antimicrobial resistance/antimicrobial use and pest resistance. There are also potential synergies, for example in key markets for animal health and human health.

Finally, the roadmap identifies that knowledge transfer needs to be encouraged. Multiple solutions will be needed in the long term (no one size fits all), and new business models will have to be designed that enable everyone to benefit. The roadmap recommends that the UK-Canada partnership should first choose some areas where they can join forces, develop synergies and be in a position to compete more effectively in global markets.

Diagnostics and sensor technologies

Business opportunity: happy hooves

Economic losses caused by poor quality animal produce such as meat and dairy products could be lessened by earlier detection of problems and immediate intervention.

Detection would be based on a two-pronged approach of alert-based remote disease surveillance at the level of an entire farm and more specific detection of disease at the animal level.

Funding would be required for trials of the hardware and software across hundreds of animals and to demonstrate how a system could be brought together in an integrated way.


How

to u

se d

iagn

ostic

sto

impr

ove

deci

sion

-m

akin

g fo

r im

prov

ed

bree

ding

Cost

ver

sus

relia

bilit

yof

fiel

dte

stin

g

Ease

of

read

ing

in

fiel

d

Qua

lity

cont

rol &

calib

ratio

n

Gai

ning

publ

icac

cept

ance

Diffi

cult

y in

trac

king

indi

vidu

al a

nim

al h

ealt

han

d be

havi

our

Mak

ing

rapi

d de

cisi

ons

base

d on

sur

veill

ance

Can

ada/

UK

foru

m o

fin

tere

sted

part

ies

Chan

ging

busi

ness

mod

els

Farm

er/v

etkn

owle

dge

exch

ange

plat

form

Publ

icly

fund

edre

sear

ch

Clim

ate

chan

ge &

envi

ron-

men

tal

impa

ct

Real

isat

ion

of v

alue

–ab

sorb

ing

cost

Valid

atio

n

Ant

i-m

icro

bial

& pe

stic

ide

resis

tanc

e

Tim

elin

efo

r ret

urn

on

inve

stm

ent

Cost

ver

sus

valu

eW

ho te

sts?

Farm

er?

Vet?

Dia

gnos

tics

addi

ngsp

ecifi

cva

lue

Inte

grat

orof

all

data

Link

betw

een

sens

ors

&an

alyt

ics

Get

ting

biom

arke

rda

ta to

ac

t on

Educ

atio

n &

know

ledg

eex

chan

ge:

join

ing

up

Com

pani

on d

ata

exch

ange

for a

groc

hem

ical

s

Mem

oran

dum

of

unde

rsta

ndin

g on

sci

ence

& te

chno

logy

coo

pera

tion

betw

een

the

two

coun

trie

s

Savi

ngla

bour

/ tim

e w

ithte

chno

logy

Cust

odia

ltr

ansf

er: e

gcr

oss b

orde

r

Mov

ing

topr

edic

tive

appr

oach

to d

isea

se

Nee

d fo

r eco

nom

icas

sess

men

t to

prov

e th

eco

mm

erci

al v

alue

of

new

tech

nolo

gy

New

tech

nolo

gies

can

be

com

plex

and

not

eas

y to

unde

rsta

nd o

r int

erpr

et a

tth

e po

int o

f use

Tech

nolo

gy g

aps

Can

ada-

UK

par

tner

ship

sfo

r tra

deJo

inin

g up

dec

isio

nm

aker

s ac

ross

val

ue c

hain

Aut

omat

ion

Har

mon

isin

g m

etho

ds

“Rea

l-tim

e”im

plem

enta

tion

and

appl

icat

ion

man

agem

ent

Indu

stry

frag

men

tatio

nD

iagn

ostic

com

pani

es n

otin

tere

sted

in a

gric

ultu

rean

d fa

rmin

g

Bro

ad c

apab

ility

ver

sus

spec

ific/

prec

ise

capa

bilit

y

Iden

tifyi

ngsu

itabl

ebi

omar

kers

Inte

grat

ing

test

resu

lts

into

mod

els

Dia

gnos

tics

dire

ctin

gde

cisi

on

mak

ing

Spee

d of

det

ectio

n an

dob

tain

ing

a re

sult

.Re

liabi

lity.

Qua

ntifi

catio

n

Scal

e: N

umbe

r of s

enso

rs

vers

us in

telli

genc

e of

pl

acem

ent –

lots

ve

rsus

few

?

Com

pata

bilit

y be

twee

nse

nsor

s an

d da

ta s

trea

ms

Robu

stne

ssCh

oice

of t

echn

olog

y. H

owdo

es it

fit w

ith c

apab

ility

?

Pred

iciti

on. S

cale

of

mea

sure

men

t ris

k fa

ctor


Shor

t (le

ss th

an 2

yea

rs)

Med

ium

(2–5

yea

rs)

Long

(+5

year

s)


Soil health has been well researched over the last few years, but there remains a diversity of opinion about its importance among the public, policy makers and funders. A decade of research has helped to identify a range of issues but interest in studying (or funding) soil health appears to be waning. New issues are emerging, such as pressures on price, margins and timescales, and the roadmap outlines a holistic approach.

The roadmap aims to increase awareness, understanding and perception of soil health before it becomes a significant problem. It recommends a similar approach and timeline to other areas – for example first developing a common understanding of specific needs. Better and consistent data acquisition is needed now, and this can be supported through standard use of appropriate diagnostics and measures. This will improve knowledge in the medium term, with technologies being adopted in the medium to long term helping to demonstrate the value of good soil to the community.

The roadmap also suggests some initial technologies that need developing and a number of longer term ones that will underpin this process.

Understanding soil health

Business opportunity: integrated farm systems

The UK and Canada could work together to forge a better understanding of how integrated farm systems impact on soil health.

The project would look at ways of optimising a crop, livestock and cover crop production system. It would examine the contribution of each agricultural system to soil health and look at interactions between plants/organic matter and the microbiome.

Optimised systems could help farmers to reduce costs and increase their margins through greater crop yield and quality.


Deg

rada

tion

of s

oils

Org

anic

mat

ter

depl

etio

n

Aw

aren

ess

Nut

ritio

nan

d fo

odqu

alit

y

Redu

ctio

nin

soi

lfu

nctio

n

Loss

of

mix

edfa

rmin

g

Bas

elin

eda

ta y

ield

gap

Unk

now

ns

Tops

oil l

oss

via

eros

ion

(win

d/ w

ater

)La

ck o

f hig

her /

appr

opria

te e

duca

tion

Gen

e ed

iting

– re

gula

tion

and

host

resi

stan

ce

Long

-ter

m s

ucce

ssiv

e fu

ndin

g st

ream

s

Opt

imal

rota

tion

– or

gani

c m

atte

r,er

osio

n, p

est/

dise

ase,

mic

robi

ome

bene

ficia

ls, m

etric

s

Kno

wle

dge

gap,

for

exam

ple

with

rega

rd to

the

mic

robi

ome

Gre

enho

use

gas

emis

sion

s (c

rops

, liv

esto

ck

man

agem

ent)

Urb

anis

atio

n

Com

mer

cial

ves

ted

inte

rest

s Colla

bora

tion,

sha

ring

of

kno

wle

dge

Tech

nolo

gica

lad

vanc

emen

t

Earl

y ad

optio

n (y

outh

,pr

ogre

ssiv

e fa

rmer

s)

Inte

rpre

tatio

n of

dat

a –

know

ledg

e ga

pA

dopt

ion

and

enga

gem

ent

Aw

aren

ess

Polic

ydi

rect

ives

Shor

tage

of re

leva

nted

ucat

ion

cour

ses

Dat

a sy

nthe

sis

& be

com

ing

outw

ardl

ylo

okin

g

Rese

arch

fund

ing

Dia

gnos

tics

/mar

kers

Kno

wle

dge

acqu

isiti

on

Kno

wle

dge

feed

back

Link

ages

to

oth

erpr

oduc

tion

them

es

Educ

atio

nA

dded

va

lue

of s

oil

Polic

y

Ince

nt-

ivis

ing

good

soi

lhe

alth

Cove

r cas

hcr

ops

Opt

imal

rota

tion

Effec

tive

com

ms

Fina

ncia

lin

cent

ives

Supe

r-m

arke

tssu

ppor

t go

od so

il he

alth

Risk

ave

rse

indu

stry

Fina

ncia

lba

rrie

rs to

adop

ting

best

pra

ctic

e

Land

tenu

re(C

anad

a)

Land

tenu

re

(UK

now

)

Lack

of

educ

atio

non

val

ue o

fgo

od s

oil

Educ

atio

n

Chan

ging

clim

ate

Perc

eptio

n of

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f soi

l hea

lth

Farm

man

agem

ent

syst

ems

Tech

nolo

gica

l

Shor

t-te

rm fi

nanc

ial

pres

sure

s di

scou

rage

optim

al c

rop

rota

tion

Valu

e ch

ain

pres

sure

s(e

cono

mic

s)

Sign

ifica

nt c

ontr

ibut

ion

to

yie

ld g

ap

Wat

er re

latio

nshi

p –

flo

od m

anag

emen

t).

Wat

er h

oldi

ng c

apac

ity

Pest

, dis

ease

com

pone

nt(o

f soi

ls)


Shor

t (le

ss th

an 2

yea

rs)

Med

ium

(2–5

yea

rs)

Long

(+5

year

s)


The current level of industry fragmentation, and some institutional inertia, are key challenges that need to be addressed.

This roadmap takes a holistic and systems-based approach to optimising feed efficiency – linking animals and plants in a new way and adopting a circular economy.

Collaboration between the UK and Canada on breeding and growing programmes is desirable and feasible (in the medium to long term). The roadmap identifies forages and legumes for beef cattle as a starting point. It sets out a number of key actions and begins with the creation of a better testing, measuring and evaluation framework between the partners.

An entire programme of work is set out at high level: identifying the best forages and wild grasses; improving cattle to allow them to make best use of the identified forages; and adopting forages that maximise output in the system through recycling through the animals. There is a need at the outset to identify the variations, attributes, traits and characteristics that need to be changed in both plants and animals.

The roadmap envisages a 5-year research and selection programme (a joint animal/plant breeding programme between the countries that exploits the various strengths – for example, vast tracts of land in Canada). Once the model has been trialled it can be extended to include other species. This will be particularly important in the context of climate change impact.

Improving feed efficiency

Business opportunity: combined plant and animal breeding

A lot of land is used to grow feed for animals and efficiency of use is quite poor.

Plant and animal breeders could be brought together to use modern breeding technologies to improve the efficiency of the whole system for the first time.

The project would require a public-private partnership involving at least one major plant and animal breeding company and significant funding to create the test subjects and to test feeds on animals in both the UK and Canada.

It would also require an earlier project to assess the potential economic benefits.


Iden

tify

limita

tions

of e

xist

ing

crop

s to

be u

sed

by ru

min

ants

Frag

men

tatio

n of

be

ef p

rodu

cers

Nee

d a

new

sys

tem

for

eval

uatin

g fo

rage

sTe

chno

logy

and

ana

lytic

sCo

llabo

ratio

n ac

ross

the

UK

/Can

ada

and

beyo

ndG

rass

land

as

basi

s fo

rfu

nctio

nal d

eplo

ymen

t

Add

ress

cha

lleng

es in

fora

gepr

oduc

tion

caus

ed b

ycl

imat

e ch

ange

Mak

ing

the

econ

omic

ca

se to

ens

ure

all s

uppl

y ch

ain

will

ado

pt

Valu

e of

gra

ss/r

esee

ding

in th

e w

ild/h

ighl

ands

toim

prov

e gr

ass

qual

ity

not

wel

l und

erst

ood

Scal

e –

amou

nt o

f ani

mal

san

d pl

ants

nee

ded

toob

tain

the

big

goal

!

Nee

d to

tran

slat

e

anim

al n

utrit

ion

requ

irem

ents

into

pla

nt

bree

ding

targ

ets

We

wan

t to

iden

tify

anim

als

that

var

y in

capa

bilit

y to

pro

cess

–

varia

ble

crop

-bas

ed d

iets

How

do

chan

ges

in fe

ed

effici

ency

cha

nge

perf

orm

ance

of a

nim

alan

d pr

oduc

t qua

lity?

Plan

t bre

edin

g - n

eed

tosh

ow th

e va

lue

oppo

rtun

ity

Wha

t is

the

split

of

varia

tion

caus

es?

Man

agin

gva

riatio

nIn

stitu

tiona

lm

omen

tum

Beh

avio

ur /

soci

al

scie

nce

– hu

man

s

Subs

idie

sm

ay n

otde

liver

bes

tpe

rfor

-m

ance

Chan

ges

topo

licy

onsu

ppor

ting

farm

ers

Min

d-se

t of

farm

ers

totr

eat g

rass

as a

cro

p

Ani

mal

/pl

ant

bree

ding

inde

x

Bre

edcl

ubs’

impa

ct o

nge

nom

ics

Lack

of

upda

tes

for

farm

ers/

indu

stry

How

to o

ptim

ise

eith

erpr

eser

vatio

n of

fora

ges

(enz

ymes

) or f

eedi

ng (f

orex

ampl

e ad

ditiv

es)

Iden

tifyi

ng s

wee

t spo

ts

and

boun

darie

s

Nee

d to

unde

rsta

ndan

imal

ne

eds

Wha

t are

the

diff

eren

t gr

owin

g co

nditi

ons

in

the

UK

and

Can

ada?

Can

adia

n fe

eds.

Hig

hqu

alit

y: m

aize

. Low

qual

ity:

pra

irie

gras

s si

lage

Com

pare

: for

exa

mpl

e lo

w a

nd h

ighc

ost

qual

ity

fora

ges

- eco

nom

ics

of c

ost

of g

row

ing

plan

t and

ani

mal

out

put

Plan

ts fo

r ani

mal

s /

anim

als

for p

lant

s –

circ

ular

eco

nom

yap

proa

ch

Sust

aina

ble

syst

ems

-an

imal

EBV

(Est

imat

edB

reed

ing

Valu

es) p

lant

–

natu

ral fl

ow Fund

ing

to p

rove

this

ispo

ssib

le a

nd e

cono

mic

ally

viab

le (d

e-ris

k)

Feed

effi

cien

cy –

ene

rgy,

pro

tein

, ca

rboh

ydra

te, fi

bre

(effi

cien

cy o

f all)

. W

hat d

oes

the

anim

al g

ut n

eed?

Join

t UK

/Can

ada

anim

al a

nd p

lant

bree

ding

pro

gram

me

to o

ptim

ise

prod

uctiv

ity

acro

ss d

iver

se ra

nge

ofan

imal

and

pla

nt c

hara

cter

istic

s

Initi

al ta

rget

: for

ages

&le

gum

es fo

r bee

f cat

tle

Can

you

impr

ove

the

upta

ke a

nd u

se o

fnu

trie

nts

e.g.

pla

nts

usin

g an

imal

man

ure?

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rtan

t to

cons

ider

clim

ate

chan

ge a

nd h

owit

mig

ht c

hang

e gr

owin

gco

nditi

ons

in th

e fu

ture

Sour

ces

ofva

riatio

n

Wha

t sho

uld

we

mea

sure

in th

e an

imal

toun

ders

tand

the

impa

ct

of d

iffer

ent a

ppro

ache

s

Key

perf

orm

ance

indi

cato

rs: p

lant

–en

ergy

and

pro

tein

/are

a. A

nim

al –

kg/

beef

per

inpu

t cos

t and

tim

e. H

ow to

op

timis

e th

is s

yste

m

Ani

mal

per

form

ance

indi

ffer

ent s

yste

ms

and

envi

ronm

ents

Wha

t do

you

mea

sure

tode

tect

wha

t is

driv

ing

varia

tion

or m

anag

ing

varia

tion?

Mic

robi

ome

usab

ility


Shor

t (le

ss th

an 2

yea

rs)

Med

ium

(2–5

yea

rs)

Long

(+5

year

s)


The acquisition, analysis, interpretation, ownership and use of data was a recurrent theme in virtually all of the activities of this programme. This roadmap concentrates on data platforms and the issues that need addressing. Managing this effectively will be critical to the benefit of all other areas being considered.

Return on investment and governance must be addressed first, and in advance of technical or technology challenges. There is a need to establish consistency and trust between all parties.

Barriers and problems were grouped into “relationships” and “best practice” and enablers were grouped into return-on-investment pilots, business-model generation and the drivers that are expected to be important over the next few years. Answering “what’s in it for me?” is a key initial step of any development or improvement.

The roadmap starts with a bilateral sharing of best practice and moves on to pilots to demonstrate return on investment. The pilots would help to establish common infrastructures and the standardisation and quality of data that would be the key to future development. There is good/best practice that can be transferred from other areas, and simplification should be an underlying objective of all of the initiatives.

Data standards, better connectivity and analytics

Business opportunity: tracing the potato to the crisp

Data and blockchain technology could help the potato crisp industry to provide traceability and authenticity for its products.

Data could be collected on potato production, potato storage and transportation, processing and on integrity across the chain. The information would be valuable to producers, shippers, retailers and consumers.

The project would need partners, funding and access to data. It could be a template for other agri-food sector supply chains.


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petit

ors

not w

illin

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r hav

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an

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pro

blem

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elat

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hips

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val

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p

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bus

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ays

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aw d

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ns th

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ernm

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do

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lop

trus

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er?

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r gov

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ro-e

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e co

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ess

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ust /

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re th

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atfo

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any?

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enla

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ata

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rtin

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hich

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val

uabl

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d ho

w c

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easu

re

that

val

ue –

eco

nom

ical

ly, e

nviro

nmen

tally

Focu

s on

sim

ple,

do-

able

, dem

onst

ratio

n pr

ojec

ts

Enco

urag

ing

exch

ange

of i

deas

and

lear

ning

Gen

erat

e bu

sine

ss o

pps

betw

een

diff

eren

t in

dust

ries

& co

untr

ies

Secu

rity

of d

ata

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ncin

g ac

coun

tabi

lity/

tran

spar

ency

in p

ract

ices

Pay

for p

erfo

rman

ce –

dem

onst

rate

val

ue

BarriersIssues & challenges Enablers

Trus

tD

ata

man

agem

ent

Gov

erna

nce

Kee

p it

sim

ple

Retu

rn o

n in

vest

men

t

Shor

t (le

ss th

an 2

yea

rs)

Med

ium

(2–5

yea

rs)

Long

(+5

year

s)


New bilateral partnerships between the UK and Canada have been established across the agri-food sector through the current programme of activities. This will enhance existing trade and create mutual export opportunities for agri-food products. Participants had a clear appetite for greater and sustained UK-Canada alliances based on shared challenges, goals and ways of working.

The challenges and opportunities faced by the sector require long-term solutions and a long-term view. While there is an appetite for partnerships to emerge, the nature of these is yet to be established. Individual parts of the agri-food supply chain often appear to be working independently. Better integration would lead to shared benefits such as improved productivity.

General themes that emerged included:

- value is not sufficiently understood across the sector but working groups could address this reasonably quickly

- perceived low benefits often lead to weak economic arguments and poor decision-making, particularly when addressing global challenges such as food safety and soil health. Better understanding of value is important in obtaining public acceptance for many initiatives

- ensuring the research community is focused on solving the challenges faced by farmers the need for a holistic view and for whole-system optimisation to cut out duplication and waste, improve understanding of causal links and prevent unhelpful competition for resources

- need to invest in skills and to attract people with technology skills from other sectors

Conclusions & recommendations

- big data and diagnostics and sensor technologies can help to solve challenges in all areas. Standardisation and better sharing of data is needed, as are better diagnostic and sensor technologies

- intellectual property issues could be a barrier

- strategic and financial support is important

Recommendations

Increased collaboration between the UK and Canada in agri-tech will help both countries meet the challenges facing the sector and help businesses take advantage of the global opportunities. To achieve this, partners should:

- develop new organisational and professional relationships within and between the UK and Canada, for example establish ‘information exchange forums’ between national partners

- create working groups or targeted focus groups to develop theme ideas, opportunities and project proposals

- create cross-cutting theme groups (such as diagnostics and sensor technologies and big data), which could be taken forward through a bilateral special interest group

- use roadmaps to explore business opportunities and resourced work programmes

- explore further missions between the UK and Canada based around themes in the roadmaps

- integrate further agri-food workstreams in the UK and Canada into development of greater and new partnerships and establish an annual conference to provide an overview of work across the key sectors

- continue to develop organisational profiling to create a better picture of the sector and opportunities for further collaborations including reaching out to a wider audience with this report and the roadmaps


1. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. An Overview of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food System 2016. www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-us/publications/economic-publications/an-overview-of-the-canadian-agriculture-and-agri-food-system-2016

2. Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs and Department for International Trade. UK Food and Drink – International Action Plan 2016-2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-food-and-drink-international-action-plan-2016-to-2020

3. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Agriculture in the UK 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agriculture-in-the-united-kingdom-2016

4. Agricultural Institute of Canada. An Overview of the Canadian Agricultural Innovation System 2017. http://www.aic.ca/pdf/AIC-An-Overview-of-the-Canadian-Agricultural-Innovation-System-2017.pdf

5. Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and Department for International Development 2013. UK strategy for agricultural technologies. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-agricultural-technologies-strategy

6. Government of Canada. Advisory Council on Economic Growth. https://www.budget.gc.ca/aceg-ccce/home-accueil-en.html

References


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Creating a shared vision for the agri-food sector€¦ · New technologies and approaches, such as genetics and precision farming practices, could increase agricultural productivity

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