AI in Agriculture: Global Business Innovation Programme in the Netherlands

A GBIP has three stages:

Prepare for the market

Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

Visiting the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

Exploiting the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK EDGE innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

To apply, you must:

• Be a UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise.
• Be a company with fewer than 500 employees.
• Be able to attend and complete all activities.

The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural goods. The integration of AI in the horticulture industry within the Netherlands has opened the potential to revolutionise farming practices, promoting sustainability, productivity, and resource efficiency. The Netherlands and the UK share a common vision and collaborate effectively, with robust digital infrastructure and its central location, the Netherlands provides easy access to major European markets, allowing great accessibility to trade and distribution.

This GBIP is part of the BridgeAI programme, which seeks to increase the adoption of AI and machine learning solutions in the UK economy. The agri-food sector has been identified as an area with high growth potential that could harness the power of AI to increase business productivity, output, and sustainability.

In both countries, this sector faces common challenges around the impact of climate change, environmental protection and the need for increased resource efficiency and transitioning to Net Zero. The UK and Netherlands have pledged to attain sustainable levels of productivity to fulfill their populations’ nutritional requirements, resulting in unique partnership opportunities.

Innovate UK and Innovate UK EDGE will fund and organise flights, accommodation, and any conference fees for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative. Only one representative from each company will be funded.

On acceptance, a commitment fee of £500 will be obtained from each delegate, which will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed action plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fee.

Benefits:

• Explore opportunities with the Netherlands
• Gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in the Netherlands
• Find potential innovation partners to develop your network and business in the UK and the Netherlands
• Improve your company value proposition in the Netherlands partners

Focus areas:

• Agriculture
• Controlled Environment Agriculture (indoor farming)
• Total Control Environment Agriculture (vertical farming)

(Focus areas that are excluded are satellite imaging, robotics, livestock and dairy).

An applicant briefing event was held on 27th July 2023: click here to watch the recording.

Closing date for application: Wednesday 30th August 2023 at 5pm
Two-day pre-visit workshop: Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th October 2023
Innovation visit: Sunday 19th – Friday 24th November 2023
Exploitation workshop: March 2024