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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics her Department will use to assess the success of Government investment in agricultural robotics.

This Government will assess the success of its investment in agricultural robotics through the Farming Innovation Programme’s long-term evaluation. Metrics will include the volume of technologies developed and commercialised, their uptake by farmers and growers, changes in farm productivity and environmental outcomes, and any wider or unintended impacts. Evidence will be drawn from programme monitoring data, follow-up surveys and longitudinal case studies, recognising that some impacts may take several years to materialise.