University of Lincoln
Innovation in agri-food technology
The University of Lincoln is supporting the success and sustainability of the UK’s food and farming industries through innovations in research, education and technology.
The University’s Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology (LIAT) is a specialist research centre focussed on improving productivity, efficiency, and sustainability across the food chain “from farm to fork”. Its multi-disciplinary team of researchers brings together sector-leading expertise in a diverse array of disciplines including agriculture, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, engineering, crop science, environmental sustainability, food manufacturing, and supply chain management, among many others. They are engaged in internationally significant research in collaboration with a range of academic and industry partners, from family-run businesses to multi-national corporations.
LIAT is based at the University of Lincoln’s 220-hectare Riseholme Park Campus just north of Lincoln, which includes a working farm. It serves one of the largest concentrations of agri-food production, research and distribution businesses in Europe. LIAT develops technology to help underpin food security, recognising that the provision of good quality, affordable food is essential to the health and prosperity of people across the UK and in nations all over the world. In addition, it seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of food and farming with the global food system thought to be responsible for up to 37% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Lincoln’s soil scientists are championing sustainable approaches to soil and water management, while robotics and artificial intelligence specialists are helping industry reduce waste through innovative technological solutions. This includes the development and deployment of world-first automation, machine learning and robotics systems.
The University of Lincoln hosts the UK’s first global centre of excellence in agri-robotics research, Lincoln Agri-Robotics. It is also a partner in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training for Agri-food Robotics – a first-of-its-kind advanced training centre.