Lincoln Experts Help Assess Potential for Robotics and Automation to Alleviate Labour Shortages in UK Food Chain

Specialists from the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, UK, have contributed world-leading expertise to assess how the rapid roll-out of robotics and automation technologies could alleviate labour shortages in the UK’s food supply chain.

Today, the UK Government announced a series of measures intended to advance the adoption of automation in crop packing and harvesting to reduce the UK’s dependence on seasonal labour.

The University of Lincoln is at the forefront of industry-aligned research and development to drive forward innovations in the sustainability, efficiency, and productivity in the UK’s £100bn+ food and farming sector. This track record has been recognised with awards including the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2023.

From establishing the world’s first doctoral training centre to train the next generation of agri-tech innovators, to launching award-winning spin-out companies deploying world-first technological solutions in-market, Lincoln’s teaching and research is supporting agri-food businesses across the country to supply the nation with the high quality, affordable, sustainable food.

Professor Simon Pearson, Founding Director of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, co-chaired the independent Automation in Horticulture Review in 2022 with Defra Secretary of State George Eustice. The Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain, led by John Shropshire OBE, published a year later, addressed related challenges and opportunities in the roll-out of automation technologies across the sector. Both reviews were prompted by concerns about labour market constraints in the post-Brexit food supply chain highlighted in the UK Government’s National Food Strategy in 2021.

Professor Pearson remarked: “The announcement today is a significant and welcomed intervention from the Government to drive productivity in the critical UK horticulture sector. The intervention supports the long-term sustainability of the sector and underpins the production of affordable and healthy fresh produce for all. In addition, it will help upskill our workforce with state-of-the-art robotic and automation technology.”

The measures announced today by Defra respond to both independent reviews, incorporating evidence and ideas proposed by the panels of academic and industry experts. The Government’s response can be found online: www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-labour-shortages-in-the-food-supply-chain-government-response/independent-review-into-labour-shortages-in-the-food-supply-chain-government-response