Driving Innovation and Wealth Creation

Growing Kent & Medway is a world-class research, innovation and enterprise cluster supporting growth in technology-driven horticultural production and processing, and its supply chains.

We are a diverse and dynamic collaboration working to bring together innovative growers and processors, scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs to deliver a shared goal of improving productivity and sustainability in the sector.

Growing Kent & Medway is regionally focussed but globally relevant— Our unique geography means we are home to most of the UK's high-value horticultural production, and a major gateway to global markets. The growth opportunity for the sector, the region and its emerging technologies is significant.

We work to build on the already powerful base located in Kent & Medway to make this region one of the most dynamic, competitive and successful horticultural and Agri-tech locations in the World.

Growing Kent & Medway drives innovation and wealth creation by providing a vibrant, supportive and collaborative ecosystem that enables new enterprises to develop and thrive. It reaches out and connects industry with technologists and researchers to address the challenges faced by the sector and its supply chains. And, it acts as a catalyst to commercialise technologies for climate-smart food production, the exploitation of novel crops and plant compounds, and the development of post-harvest technologies that minimise waste and add value.

Our Network

Growing Kent & Medway is a world-class consortium of partners from NIAB EMR, APS Salads, Berry Gardens Growers, Chapel Down Plc, Geku UK Ltd, Gusbourne Estate Ltd, Locate in Kent, Richard Hochfeld Ltd, Smurfit Kappa UK Ltd, Thanet Earth Ltd, World Wide Fruit Ltd, Kent County Council, Medway Council, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Kent.

The collaboration increases research capacity and co-invested industry engagement to drive innovation, commercialisation and novel training programmes. It is backed by strong support from the wider civic and business communities in the region.

The consortium has recently been supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Strength in Places Fund to develop a full business case for realising its ambitions:

https://www.ukri.org

The UK Government announced the Strength in Places Fund in the Industrial Strategy White Paper. This highlighted the important role science, research, innovation and skills provision play in driving productivity and economic growth throughout the regions and nations of the UK.

UKRI is a new body that aims to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. UKRI operates across the whole of the UK bringing together 9 research funding bodies to work in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government.

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