Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with fruit producers on the potential use of automation in fruit-picking.

Defra regularly engages with the horticulture industry to understand what support they need to continue to produce great food. These discussions help inform our understanding of automation development and adoption as well as future policy development in this space.

In 2021 a Defra-led review of automation in horticulture, chaired by Simon Pearson of Lincoln University, included a survey and a series of advisory roundtables with stakeholders across the horticulture supply chain, the automation sector and key enabling industries. The review helped Defra to better understand what is required to accelerate the development and uptake of automation technologies in both the edible and ornamental sectors, with the final report published on 27 July 2022.

Defra also commissioned John Shropshire to carry out an Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain throughout 2022 and 2023, considering how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour could contribute to tackling labour shortages in our sectors, including horticulture. This report was published on 30 June 2023 and the government response – which will also be informed by the Review of Automation in Horticulture – is expected to be published in Autumn 2023. At the same time as the response, the government will set out how it will support the sector to access the labour it needs alongside actions to reduce the sector’s reliance on migrant labour including via our work on automation and promoting domestic labour procurement and training.

Furthermore, the UK Government continues to invest in agricultural R&D to support automation in horticulture and agriculture. This year it committed £12.5 million focussed on automation and robotics through the wider Farming Innovation Programme, and additional funding for horticulture via the Farming Investment Fund. When designing the next round of the Improving Farm Productivity grant, which is part of the Farming Investment Fund, we engaged with multiple horticulture sector groups (including fruit growers) in order to understand how we might be able to benefit the sector more. We are now implementing their advice by including more automated equipment in scope of the fund.