Grant funding opportunity launched

GRANT FUNDING

OPPORTUNITY LAUNCHED

The first tranche of research and development (R&D) funding being made available through the Growing Kent & Medway programme – amounting to £3m – was announced at Fruit Focus.

Grants of up to £250,000 will be made available to help fund projects that aim to develop green technologies, processes or products for horticultural food and drink businesses across Kent and Medway.

Businesses that apply for funds will be expected to commit to delivering social value back to the region either through community engagement or by raising awareness of career pathways in horticulture, food production or agri-food technologies.

The grants were announced as part of Growing Kent & Medway’s official launch and offer businesses operating in food production, packaging or processing or enabling agri-food technologies the first opportunity to benefit directly from the programme.

Programme director Dr Nicola Harrison said: “The large-scale collaborative R&D grants we are making available will be awarded to projects that will help to establish the Kent and Medway area as a world-leader in climate-smart, sustainable horticultural food and drink production.

“These grants are an important part of our wider programme to build on the region’s reputation and international gateway status. We are investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure and research facilities, scientific expertise and enterprise growth to make this region one of the most dynamic, competitive and successful horticultural and agri-tech locations in the world.”

Priority innovation themes set out for the grant funding include: • minimising waste and maximising recycling • improving resource use efficiency and sustainability • increasing productivity • resilient food production, such as supply chain resilience and nutritional security • precision technologies, including sensor technologies, artificial intelligence or robotics • solving the challenge of access to labour.

Oliver Doubleday, chair of East Malling Trust, said: “Funding for research and innovation to support the horticultural industry has been at the heart of the Trust’s work for more than a century.

“Growing Kent & Medway’s grant scheme will ensure the sector can make an even greater contribution to the development and sustainability of the local economy through the commercial application of science and research.”

Growing Kent & Medway is supported by government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund. Applications open on 6 September 2021. See www.growingkentandmedway.com for more details.

Professor Mario Caccamo, currently deputy director of the UK crop science organisation NIAB and managing director of NIAB EMR at East Malling, has been appointed as NIAB’s new chief executive and will take over from retiring CEO Dr Tina Barsby in October.