Eleven companies have been shortlisted for the 2021 Agri-tech Excellence Awards, with the winner due to be announced at Agri-EPI conference’s annual conference taking place on October 28.
Supported by Marks & Spencer, Syngenta, Leyton, Barclays and Kubota, the awards recognise tech companies that have had a beneficial impact on-farm.
The shortlisted companies in the first category, ‘UK on-farm impact’, are as follows:
- Flox AI: Flox use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve bird welfare and flock performance;
- Oxi-tech Solutions: Oxi-Tech Solutions has commercialised a novel Patented technology that creates the most powerful industrial disinfectant currently in use today, dissolved ozone created entirely from the water on-farm and low voltage electricity;
- Taylor Technologies: Computer vision and artificial intelligence based technology system that enables a conventional crop sprayer to become a precise, intelligent and futuristic weed-targeting spot-sprayer;
- Bx Technologies: Bx is an ambitious Climate-AgriTech company, fusing technology with nature to transform how we grow food;
- Pruex Ltd: Pruex have an innovative approach, using non-infective bacteria, similar to soil bacteria, to outcompete disease causing bacteria, and provide livestock with healthier environments to live in;
- B-Hive Innovation: B-hive Innovations is a dedicated research and development company for the fresh produce industry technologies include HarvestEye & TuberScan.
In the second category, ‘International on-farm impact’, the companies shortlisted are:
- ALVÁTECH: ALVÁTECH is a revolutionary eco-friendly water technology for agriculture and livestock, allowing farmers to use saline and hard water to grow more, increase profits and reduce water consumption;
- Kisan Hub: The KisanHub Platform is a suite of software delivering real-time agri-food supply chain and procurement information to help producer groups manage supply and demand;
- Onachil Food Store: Onachil makes, sells / rents solar powered cold chain technologies to farmers which they use to safely preserve their produce after harvest, and link them directly to buyers using E-Commerce AI conversational chatbot;
- Farm ERP: FarmERP is an intelligent and next-generation farm management platform, developed to ready a wide range of entities and stakeholders for the future;
- Wicow: wiCow is a smart, early warning and health tracking technology for cattle and buffalos;
- Tavant: Tavent’s solutions, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, help improve operational productivity, speed and accuracy in the interconnected world to succeed in a rapidly changing business environment.
Agri-EPI conference
The role of agri-tech in the journey towards more economically and environmentally sustainable farming is to be the focus of this year’s Agri-EPI conference.
The free event will be held virtually on the conference platform Hopin, and will provide for an open forum between farmers and the wider agri-food industry, technology developers, start-ups, investors and researchers.
A series of round-table discussions will explore the role of data and technology in improving productivity and profit while enhancing the environment. Farmers involved in Agri-EPI’s Satellite Farm Network will join the conversation.
Lisa Williams, Agri-EPI’s director of business development said: “Drawing on our links with every part of the agri-tech landscape, Agri-EPI’s aim is to bring together a diverse group of participants to the conference.
We are looking forward to hearing their perspectives and expertise on what’s required to deliver effective new technology that really makes a difference to farmers as they focus on sustaining their businesses during this time of transition for the industry.”
