Independent Review for Defra led by Prof Simon Pearson:

Executive summary

Horticulture has long been dependent on seasonal migrant labour from the European Union (EU) for growing and harvesting both edible and ornamental produce. Following the end of free movement between the UK and the EU and the introduction of the UK's points-based immigration system, the sector's dependency on low skilled migrant workers from the EU needed reassessing and readjusting.

In response, the UK government announced various policy interventions and reviews to help support and prepare the sector. On 22 December 2020 the UK government announced an extension of the Seasonal Workers Pilot for 2021, expanding the number of visas from 10,000 to 30,000, and a Review of Automation in Horticulture to be conducted by Defra.

While the review was to work alongside the newly extended and expanded Seasonal Workers Pilot, as well as efforts to attract more UK residents into agricultural work, its remit and purpose were clear. The review was to bring together experts across horticulture, technology and supporting industries to understand what would be required to accelerate the development and uptake of automation technologies, in both the edible and ornamental horticulture sectors, in support of the wider aim of reducing the sector's reliance on low skilled migrant workers.

To gather support and participation by industry, it was agreed the review would be co-chaired by the Right Honourable George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Professor Simon Pearson, Director of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology and Professor of Agri-Food Technology at the University of Lincoln.

The review immediately undertook a preliminary cross-sector survey to help inform the agendas of a series of advisory roundtables attended by sector experts. These roundtables covered a strategic overview and deep dives into horticultural subsectors, technology development and a wide range of supporting mechanisms. These roundtables informed the state of automation in horticulture and the corresponding development pipeline with regards to its potential to displace seasonal labour.

The review was to culminate with the publication of this report, with recommendations setting out future actions the UK government and the horticulture sector may wish to pursue. The intention was not for the recommendations to be binding on government, but for government to consider and determine which to take forward.

The findings and recommendations from the report will also contribute to decisions regarding any future seasonal agricultural workers schemes.

Key findings

The review identified 6 key clusters of technologies that could help accelerate the adoption and development of automation in horticulture.

The first 3 technology clusters are widely available for mass adoption (considered the first wave). They use established automation technologies for operations that are either simple in operational environment or task. Overall, they offer minor labour savings but can increase worker productivity by reducing the ergonomic burden of tasks.

Optimised production systems

Optimised production systems (such as improved infrastructure, canopy architectures, ergonomics, crop varieties, equipment, and management systems that maximise efficiency whilst also reducing waste) offer a broad range of opportunities where enhanced growing systems can be designed or implemented to drive harvest productivity. They can be implemented quickly and offer medium labour savings at a sector level.

Packhouse automation

Packhouse automation performs low variation tasks in a controlled environment and, subject to capital and skills constraints, could be implemented in some production sites within 3 to 5 years. But there is a lower ratio of packhouse to field workers and this constrains labour savings at a sector level.

Field rigs and mechanical systems

Field rigs and mechanical systems are used in field operations to automate harvesting and husbandry tasks partly or fully. They can be implemented relatively quickly, likely within a few years, and shared learning across horticulture would offer low labour savings at a sector level.

The remaining 3 technology clusters are currently in development pipelines (forming the second and third waves). Many of the systems identified in the review are in prototype stages, or at what the industry terms technology readiness levels 5 or 6, with some devices undertaking farm trials. This stage of development between academia and commercialisation is also known as the ‘valley of death’ due to the large capital required for development activities.

Further details on the valley of death and Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) can be found at Annex A: Technology Readiness Levels in horticulture.

Autonomous selective harvesting

Autonomous selective harvesting utilises mobile robotic systems that autonomously navigate growing environments, identifying and harvesting crops. Autonomous selective harvesting offers high labour savings at a sector level but if left to market forces will unlikely be commercially available until well after 2030.

Augmented work

Augmented work can be achieved through a range of technologies. These systems, including those enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) or collaborative robotics, improve a worker’s productivity through technology, often depending on a worker’s cognitive abilities and dexterity for the more complex aspects of a task. Augmented work, such as assisted harvesting or produce packing, could be implemented in the medium term, probably before 2030, and offers medium labour savings at a sector level.

Autonomous crop protection, monitoring and forecasting

Autonomous crop protection, monitoring and forecasting delivers incremental environmental and resource productivity to farms. This suite of autonomous systems (such as robotic sprayers, light treatments or fruit counting) helps underpin the transition towards full crop harvesting robotics and are considered critical technical steppingstones. Innovation that automates crop protection, monitoring and forecasting could be implemented in the medium term, probably before 2030, and offers low labour savings at a sector level.

Barriers to adoption and development of automation

The review found many factors impeding the adoption and development of automation technologies.

In terms of adoption, access to knowledge and know-how was challenging for growers. This was due to:

• the fragmented and diverse nature of horticulture
• a lack of independent robotics and automation information
• a lack of independent business support
• inconsistent messaging
• challenges identifying the limited number of technology integrators who will build systems for horticultural applications

Due to uncertainty in the duration, security and scale of production contracts, growers can lack the confidence to invest. Growers were also concerned whether the policy environment, specifically the future of the Seasonal Workers Pilot, would have sufficient scale and duration for them to confidently bridge the transition towards greater automation.

Equally, raising capital for investment can be problematic, especially for highly innovative equipment such as robotics, since to validate funding risk financiers require evidence of machinery track record, depreciation rate and performance. Grants to purchase equipment have offered some support, but they were not designed with the sole purpose of funding horticultural automation. This has resulted in unsuitable criteria for grants, for instance, a requirement that they increase job numbers.

Where sectors have successfully automated, they have done so by removing variation and standardising components. However, variation is inherent in horticulture, along with fast changing packaging and customer requirements that increase production system uncertainty, automation cost, and complexity.

In the development pipeline space, the barriers are no less confounding, and collaboration and knowledge sharing efforts must be improved. Developers can struggle to understand the needs of the end user, and there is significant fragmentation across the development pipeline with limited collaboration on common problems between technology developers and the horticultural supply chain. The lack of clarity around the boundaries for pre-competitive research has also hindered development of some systems and reinforced fragmentation among technology developers.

The UK government’s innovation funding has successfully supported the work of many robotic and automation companies operating within the horticultural sector. But the review suggested that further business support might ease and widen access to this funding route. Stakeholders can have difficulty navigating the complex funding landscape and applying for suitable programs. Furthermore, on-farm trials are critical but can carry significant financial risk to the growers. UK government support for growers to mitigate these risks could widen participation and increase the rate of adoption.

Barriers such as horticulture practices, skills, standards and regulation must also be overcome if technology in development is to make a future impact. For example, infrastructure and horticultural practices have been optimised for human workers, and it is unlikely the current crop varieties, growing architectures and infrastructure are optimal for automation and robotics. This will probably need to change. Additionally, as mobile robotics are data intensive and telecommunication dependent, limited rural connectivity could stifle the technology adoption.

The skills required to install, operate, and maintain the next generation of automation will be Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) based, and there is a risk that horticulture may not be attractive enough to ensure skills are local, abundant and available on demand. Skills development programs for the automation of the sector will need to be considered, especially how workforces can be trained to operate and maintain robotic systems.

While standards, best practice and regulation can be a harmonising tool that encourages innovation, without clear standards innovators might relocate or cease their development efforts and growers will not be able to insure systems. Health and safety are key concerns for all stakeholders, and data ownership and cyber security need to be addressed.

Added benefits

Several participants at the roundtables argued that there were better reasons to automate than simply reducing seasonal migrant labour. While this review, including its findings and recommendations, focuses on how automation can reduce the sector’s seasonal labour dependency, the roundtables revealed the many motivations driving stakeholders to adopt and develop automation technologies for horticulture.

Thus the review’s recommendations, summarised in the next section and outlined further in section 4, could enable increased productivity, increase food system related innovation and lead to more sustainable horticultural practices and, for these reasons, could equally support Net Zero, help level up rural economies and contribute to many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Recommendations

There are various barriers that prohibit the sector from adopting currently available automation technologies, as well as those stifling the development of robotic systems from early prototype to commercial and scaled adoption.

The following recommendations would help overcome these barriers. They are built around 3 key themes of 'mind the gap', 'collaboration' and 'technology alone is not a solution' and suggest actions that will help create an enabling environment to increase the adoption of automation technologies by the horticulture sector and accelerate the technology development pipeline. They are not intended to be binding on government, but for government to consider.

Mind the gap

The need for a secure source of labour in the period before mass-adoption of automation technology is feasible.

Recommendation 1: Defra should consider pursuing a long-term Seasonal Workers Scheme for edible and ornamental horticulture starting in 2022

A long-term Seasonal Workers Scheme would help to stabilise workforce pressures in the sector, helping growers to better evaluate their labour needs over time and incentivising long-term capital investments in automation technology.

While a new Seasonal Workers Visa Route has been announced for 2022 to 2024, the length of any future schemes should ideally match the period preceding the feasible mass-adoption of automation technology.

Collaboration

The need for cooperative leadership and engagement between the UK government, industry, and academia to increase the mass adoption of automation and accelerate technology in the development pipeline.

Recommendation 2: Defra should consider convening a consortium that brings together UK government departments, horticulture industry and technology companies to drive significant adoption of available and proven technologies by growers

A cross-industry consortium would help to remediate the significant fragmentation between technology providers and end users, as well as:

• fast-track the adoption of available technologies across horticulture, and the transfer of proven technologies across sub-sectors
• increase collaboration across the supply chain
• increase knowledge transfer and the sharing of risk at all stages of adoption

Recommendation 3: Defra should consider launching a robotic crop harvester mission to fast-track innovative research and development of systems currently in the 'valley of death'

A highly focussed mission-led approach, underpinned by the UK government's leadership and funding, and supported by technology companies and the horticulture sector, would help accelerate the development of automation technology.
 

A mission-led approach of this kind has the potential to disrupt horticultural practices whilst securing global leadership in horticultural production and automation technologies.

Technology alone is not a solution

There is a need to provide the necessary infrastructure, funding, guidance and regulations to support this sectoral revolution.

Recommendation 4: Defra should consider leading a review of financial and fiscal support for automation in horticulture

Current processes, criteria and mechanisms for financial support in this area, in particular grant conditions, are discouraging some growers from engaging with sectoral innovation.

Defra should consider assessing whether current arrangements are suitable for increased adoption and accelerated development of such technologies and make changes where necessary.

Recommendation 5: the sector should identify, develop, and share automation infrastructure best practice among growers to help them transition from labour-intensive to technology-intensive operations

The horticultural sector should look to establish a working group to identify and disseminate novel harvest practices and infrastructure development plans that are more conducive to automation environments. The business need for rural data connectivity should also be considered.

Recommendation 6: the sector should develop its future skills pipelines and consider ways to attract and retain skilled staff

The horticultural sector should lead a review into future skills requirements to inform and build skills pipelines which ensures existing and new workers have the required skill set for the future of their work.

This should consider how to make the sector more attractive to work in, through career development and leveraging regional strategies. The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) is a welcome industry initiative that could have an important role to play here.

Recommendation 7: the sector should seek greater representation for horticulture and technology supply chain delegates at regulatory-legislative working groups on next generation robotics

The sector should seek greater representation for horticulture and the automation supply chain delegates on regulatory working groups so that it can influence the next generation of legislation related to health and safety, data ownership and the security of automation technologies, ensuring they are workable on farms.