Nine innovative projects across Mid and North Wales have secured a combined £2.95 million in Collaborative Research and Development funding from Innovate UK, reinforcing the region’s growing agri-tech and food-tech innovation ecosystem. The funding has been awarded through the Agri-tech and Food Technology Cluster for Mid and North Wales, a programme designed to drive technological advancement and strengthen regional capacity in agriculture and food production through collaboration.
The cluster is coordinated by a Cluster Management Organisation led by Growing Mid Wales and delivered in partnership with Ambition North Wales, M-Sparc, AberInnovation, AMRC Cymru, Innovate UK and the Welsh Government. It supports businesses and research partners by promoting funding opportunities, offering tailored guidance and connecting innovators with specialist expertise and facilities to help accelerate development and adoption of new technologies.
The funded projects focus on addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing the agri-food sector, including productivity, sustainability, crop and livestock health, food resilience and environmentally responsible packaging. By encouraging collaboration between businesses, researchers and delivery partners, the funding helps reduce innovation risk and brings new products, processes and services closer to market.
Projects supported through the programme include innovations such as rapid diagnostic tools for livestock and plant diseases, satellite-connected water quality monitoring systems, robotic harvesting technologies, circular economy solutions using agricultural by-products, sustainable food packaging alternatives and nutritionally enhanced food products. Collectively, these initiatives aim to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact and strengthen domestic food security.
The Agri-tech and Food Technology Cluster plays a central role in supporting these developments by bringing together businesses, researchers and regional partners under a shared strategic framework. Its activities are guided by a steering group of key stakeholders to ensure alignment with business needs, regional priorities and long-term growth opportunities across Mid and North Wales.
Regional leaders and programme partners have highlighted that this investment not only demonstrates the depth of innovation capability within the region, but also ensures that funding is spent locally. By supporting collaboration, skills development and applied research, the projects are expected to deliver lasting economic, environmental and social benefits for Mid and North Wales while positioning the region as a hub for agri-tech and food-tech innovation.
