A solution that aims to help farmers de-risk the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices is outlined in a new report, recently launched by Agri-Tech Innovation Centre, CHAP.
The ‘Regenerative Agriculture Field Profiler’ is the latest output from CHAP’s New Innovations Programme, where respected voices from industry collaborate to formulate strategic business cases that address gaps in the market.
For this round of the programme, stakeholders explored how to solve the need to measure, prove and demonstrate the impacts of regenerative agriculture, to drive adoption and create a new place for farming. The result is a business case which proposes a new data tool, the Field Profiler, as the most viable solution.
Overseeing the process was CHAP’s Innovation Network Lead, Dr Harry Langford. Dr Langford said: “The New Innovations Programme aims to understand the barriers preventing the adoption of sustainable crop production systems, and where opportunities lie for cross-industry collaboration to overcome those challenges.
Harnessing enthusiasm
“Regenerative agriculture is highly topical at the moment, thanks to successful events such as Groundswell. Therefore harnessing that enthusiasm and looking for ways to increase adoption even further through applied agri-tech, is of strategic importance to CHAP.
“That is what we believe the Field Profiler could achieve. Simply put, the tool secures data to measure and benchmark the impact of regenerative agriculture, helping farmers to quantify the on-farm benefits and de-risk change.
“As it develops, it will be used to produce granular field profiles specific to different soil types and topographies, with the ultimate goal of creating a predictive tool that offers scenario testing and simulation.”
Offering profiles at field level means the solution will support farmers in making small-scale changes with expected positive outcomes, encouraging greater adoption of sustainable practices.
It will also provide the basis of common metrics to benchmark not only regenerative systems, but also net zero agriculture.
Research Associate for CHAP, Dr Jemma Taylor, co-ordinated the production of the new report, which summarises the Field Profiler business case. She said: “The Field Profiler is the result of a collaborative, considered process, and we are delighted to now share that through the launch of the report.
“As well as those who took part in our stakeholder workshops, we welcome any individual or company from the sector, who would like to be involved in the next steps as we look to deliver the solution.
“This is our second report, the first being the Biologicals Pipeline Accelerator and Demonstrator. Since publishing that in June, we have been approached by a number of SMEs with a view to collaboration, which demonstrates the importance of bringing together expertise through the New Innovations Programme, as a means of finding novel solutions.”
For more information about the Field Profiler, e-mail enquiries@chap-solutions.co.uk and for information about CHAP, visit www.chap-solutions.co.uk
