The Tesco Agri T-Jam has partnered with World Agri-Tech to offer seed and early-stage agri-tech innovators from around the world, the opportunity to work with the UK’s leading food retailer and its supply chain partners. Entries are invited until the closing date of June 10 (midnight US Pacific) from agri-tech start-ups with innovative breakthrough technologies and solutions to improve supply chain efficiency and sustainability.
Following an in-depth selection process by the Agri T-Jam judging committee, ten finalists will be revealed during the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit on September 28-29. At least one start-up will be selected for fast-track introductions and mentoring by the Tesco agriculture team and its supplier network.
“We are delighted to be working with the World Agri Tech Innovation Summit for the fourth year running. We are always looking for new innovative ways to serve our customers, colleagues and communities better. We are looking forward to seeing the new technologies and ideas that come forward, and to offering the finalists a chance to partner with our suppliers to make a positive difference in providing affordable, healthy, sustainable food.”
Natalie Smith, Head of Agriculture at Tesco
Tesco is looking for technologies in the following priority areas:
- Reducing Environmental Footprint & GHG Emissions
- Predictive Farming
- Crop Specific Solutions, Shelf Life & Storage
- Improving Soil Health & Resilience
- Water Quality Analysis & Irrigation
- Robotics, Automation & Sensor Technology
- Monitoring & Supporting Biodiversity
- Livestock: Animal Health & Welfare
- Supply Chain Efficiency & Waste Reduction
- Indoor & Vertical Farming
- Remote Operations – Automation, Farm Management, Worker Safety
The 2021 Tesco Agri T-Jam Final will be held as a virtual event on Monday October 18 with the judging commitee, supply chain partners and Tesco colleagues. Each finalist will then present again in a a public showcase webinar to a global audience, before the winner is revealed.
“Start-ups are a vital part of our agtech community, driving sustainability and presenting huge opportunities for investment. We’re delighted to continue the partnership with Tesco, working with their influential supply chain to support innovation and give start-ups this platform for visibility and growth. We look forward to sharing the next crop of dynamic international agtech innovators with our global audience as we showcase them at the summit and beyond!”
Abigail Ryder, Programme Director for the World Agri-Tech Innovation Series
WINNERS 2020
NUMNUTS (Scotland): It is an easy-to-use product that provides targeted pain relief for ‘marking’ of lambs with the standard rubber ring.
CULTIVA (Italy): By enhancing the plant’s membrane stability, it reduces crop losses associated with environmental extremes that have become more prevalent with climate change, including fruit cracking and sunburn.
FOTENIX (UK): It combines cameras with machine learning to monitor crop status, such as disease, in real-time.
LIVESTOCK WATER RECYCLING (Canada): It has a patented on-farm water treatment PLANT and myPLANT data dashboard, that creates value for food producers by digitizing the waste outputs from animal agriculture to reduce expenses and the environmental impact of food production.
NEOPERK (India): It is developing a rapid soil testing technology, a combination of hardware and software which scans the soil sample using opto-electronic sensors and uses machine learning models to determine the soil nutrient status and its requirements.
OCEAN HARVEST TECHNOLOGY (UK): By combining the latest microbiome assay methods with performance testing, it has shown that its prebiotics can enhance performance in dairy, poultry, and swine applications.
ONECUP AI (Canada): The cornerstone of its technology is 360 Live ID – effectively face recognition for cattle from any angle.
PEROXIGEN (UK): It has developed a range of pipefittings that incorporate a novel electrolytic cell that generates ozone in the water flow. As the ozone is a powerful and fast-acting disinfectant, it destroys all pathogens in the water supply.
PURESPACE INC. (South Korea): PureSpace has developed a new mechanism based on nanotechnology to decompose organic compounds such as ethylene gas, mold and bacteria. Through this intervention, the shelf-life of fresh food can be systematically increased, thus reducing post-harvest losses.
SENSEGRASS (France) – It is a soil intelligence platform that helps companies and farmers to reduce excessive nitrogen and fertilizers in the soil using a patented NPK sensor that detects, measures and analyses soil nutrients in real-time.
AgReads® 