Raphael Thys
Using robots to pick fruit could help to remedy the perennial difficulty in recruiting workers to do the job
Robot fruit pickers could be deployed as part of a series of measures to address potential food shortages in Britain, it emerged yesterday.
Ministers have ordered a review into strategies to prevent a dearth of some products due to the impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on global supply chains.
The forthcoming food strategy white paper has been updated to include plans to reduce Britain’s reliance on foreign imports and the impact of rising gas prices and climate change on the agriculture industry.
Robot farming: What impact will it have?
The measures could include introducing robots to pick fruit and investment in “vertical farming”, where crops are grown in stacked trays in a temperature-controlled warehouse.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, George Eustice, the environment, food and rural affairs