Bristol agri-tech firm LettUs Grow has been named one of the UK’s top tech startups at this year’s Vodafone Techstarter awards clinching a grand prize of £45,000.
The firm has created a range of advanced aeroponic technology and farm management software for indoor farms.
The Techstarter programme celebrates new businesses developing and using technology as a force for good. It aims to uncover and develop ideas that harness the power of technology to improve health, education, environmental protection or social mobility.
As well as the £45,000 prize fund, LettUs Grow will also be granted a place on a 12-month support programme from Vodafone and the Social Tech Trust – an investor in socially-motivated technology.
Jack Farmer, one of LettUs Grow’s three founders and operational lead, said: “Humanity must increase food production by 70% to feed an extra two billion people by 2050. We must do this with 25% less farmland, depleted soils and an increasingly unstable climate.
“To address this problem, LettUs Grow has designed a patent-pending aeroponic system that has shown growth rate increases of over 70% compared to existing solutions for a number of crops.
“Instead of using soil or water, plant roots are suspended in a nutrient-dense mist. This results in faster growth rates than conventional field growing or hydroponics, consistent and predictable year-round harvests, and a 95% reduction in water usage versus open-field agriculture.”
Farmer explained the firm would use the prize to launch several pilot farms in greenhouses and research centres before then working to scale nationally and internationally.
TV presenter Jason Bradbury; Vodafone Business UK director Anne Sheehan; LettUs Grow co-founder Jack Farmer; LettUs Grow communications lead India Langley
Nick Jeffery, chief executive, Vodafone UK, said: “The range and calibre of the Vodafone Techstarter winners show that the UK is home to a thriving social tech sector.
“We believe the biggest challenges in society can be addressed using technology and innovation. These awards are just one way we can recognise, celebrate and support startups developing and using technology as a force for good.”
