Growing Kent & Medway

A world-class research, innovation and enterprise cluster supporting growth in technology-driven horticultural production, processing, food, and its supply chains.

Driving Innovation and Wealth Creation

Growing Kent & Medway drives innovation and wealth creation by providing a vibrant, supportive and collaborative ecosystem that enables new skills to develop and enterprises to thrive.

A catalyst to commercialise technologies for climate-smart food production, novel plants, and the development of post-harvest technologies that minimise waste and add value.

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Our Network

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.

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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.

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Regional Development

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.

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Engagements

Our engagements have now been delivered. A summary of what happened at them is available here.

KENT COUNTY SHOW

Kent County show with the Institute of Directors

Fri, 5 July 2019
07:30am – 9:00am

Kent Showground
Detling, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3JF

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FRUIT FOCUS

The leading technical event for the fruit industry

Wed, 17 July 2019
9:00am – 5:00pm

NIAB EMR
New Road, East Malling, Kent, ME19 6BJ

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Talk to Us

Join us to learn more about this new growth initiative for collaborative research and innovation in Kent & Medway. We want to share with you what we have achieved so far and we want to listen to your ideas. This is your chance to inform and influence a unique opportunity to catalyse innovation and growth in the region.

EAST MALLING

Tue, 4 June 2019
4:00pm – 6:00pm

The Orchards
New Road
East Malling
ME19 6BJ

MEDWAY

Wed, 5 June 2019
4:00pm – 6:00pm

Pembroke Building
University of Greenwich
Medway Campus
Gillingham, ME4 4TB

CANTERBURY

Thu, 6 June 2019
4:00pm – 6:00pm

Sibson Building
Kent Business School
Parkwood Road
Canterbury, CT2 7FS

Our scheduled events have now been delivered. A summary of what happened at them is available here.

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Our Partners

"We believe that growing the economy in Kent & Medway and raising sustainable productivity can be driven by increasing industry-led research and innovation."

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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.

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, the APS Group, Berry Gardens Growers, Thanet Earth Ltd, World Wide Fruit Ltd, Hadlow College, 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 is currently 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.

Coming Soon...

We're constantly adding more information to our website and online resources. The content you are looking for will be published soon, but if you have any queries then please contact us.

The Kent Show

Professor Mario Caccamo (NIAB EMR) took Growing Kent & Medway to the Kent County Show in early July, where three days of sunshine helped to swell visitor numbers to 78,000.

Attending the Institute of Director’s breakfast event Professor Caccamo shared the vision of Growing Kent & Medway with the county’s business community. It was a great opportunity to meet and discuss some of the key issues affecting the sector with the region’s leading business people. The tagline: ‘Rural Business and Food – and what we can do about it?’, and the debate entitled ‘Brexit for Breakfast’, chaired by the popular broadcaster and former MP Lembit Opik, were especially fitting considering the goals and impacts that Growing Kent & Medway are looking to achieve.

Even in predominantly rural Kent, much of the county’s business sector does not understand the significance of agriculture and horticulture. The fact that the IoD elected to give farming and food a major platform at this year’s show provided opportunities to showcase the economic and social importance of the food production supply chain.

Fruit Focus

“Growing Kent & Medway” attended this year’s Fruit Focus, the leading technical event for the fruit industry, hosted by NIAB EMR at East Malling in Kent.

The event brought together more than 1,200 growers and industry professionals with well over 100 leading suppliers. It showcases all aspects of agronomy, machinery and equipment, business information, pre- and post-harvest technology, and marketing.

Fruit Focus gave us a unique opportunity to exchange views and network with key businesses in the horticultural food production supply chain and the enabling AgriTech sector. This feedback has helped to shape and direct the activities that we intend to deliver with the shared goal of improving productivity, inclusive growth and sustainability in the sector.

Driving Regional Growth

With the aim of driving regional growth through collaborative innovation in the horticultural production and food processing supply chain, the first Growing Kent & Medway engagement events were held across the region in early June 2019. The events attracted a diverse audience representing business, entrepreneurs, civic leadership, not-for-profit groups and researchers active in the sector.

Listening to our stakeholders

Speakers from Locate in Kent, The Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency, Medway Council, Kent and Medway Economic Partnership, Produced in Kent, and local small businesses - NIM’s Crisps and The Juice Executive - shared inspiring success stories and their ambitions for the sector, as well as highlighting some of the challenges that are faced by the region.

Using digital tools for interactive audience participation, participants offered their insights into what is holding back increased levels of collaborative innovation, research and business growth. Through listening to the needs of stakeholders, Growing Kent & Medway will work to kick-start initiatives that help to overcome these barriers to deliver a shared goal of improved productivity, inclusive growth and sustainability in the sector.