The UK Agri-Tech Centre (UKATC), the publicly funded body that helps agricultural technology companies test and develop their products, will cut its workforce by 60%, from 130 to 50 people, after completing a staff consultation, AgFunderNews reported.
The centre says the change is "not a cost-cutting exercise" but a new way of working. It runs 43 facilities covering crops, livestock, aquaculture, engineering, robotics and AI. Under the model, which is due to be in place in 2027, it will stop testing, trialling and validating technologies itself and will move those facilities to partner organisations. Its role will be to connect startups, larger companies, researchers, investors, government and farmers with the facilities and expertise they need.
"We plan to move away from directly testing, trialing and validating technologies ourselves," chief engagement officer Daniel Himsworth said. He explained that the centre had at times competed for research contracts with the same partners it worked with, and that the change was meant to remove that duplication. The facilities would stay within the UK's research capability and would be handed over case by case to organisations the centre already works with, he said; it is not selling them. The new design was drawn up with Innovate UK and support from Defra, the UK farm and environment ministry.
UKATC was formed in 2024 from the merger of three government-backed agtech bodies working on precision farming, crop protection and livestock. It is a private not-for-profit organisation that gets core funding from the government through Innovate UK and has earned some income from testing services, research grants and fees from startups using its sites. Chief executive Steve McLean, who joined in January 2026, said the immediate priority was to support the staff whose jobs are affected.
Reactions from the industry were mixed. David Farquhar of TechTour, which links startups with investors, said the shift would let the centre focus on getting new technology adopted on commercial farms rather than early-stage research. One startup executive said the centre had been "really supportive" and that a clearer focus could help, provided growers still got practical support. Another founder said his meetings with the centre had added little value and that startups needed experienced advisers to help with scaling, regulation and finding investors. The story was reported by Elaine Watson.
Photo: DLG e.V. / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: AgFunderNews
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