The UK government has announced a £20 million (€23 million) fund to support the development of agricultural robotics and automation on farms in England. Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said the funding will support technologies that plant, tend to, and harvest crops, offering support to farmers during peak operational seasons. Agri-tech businesses across the UK can now bid for a share of the investment to collaborate with researchers and agricultural workers on next-generation farm automation and robots. ADVERTISEMENTThe initiatives form part of a broader pledge to invest at least £200 million (€233 million) in farming innovation by 2030. Fieldwork Robotics has engineered a raspberry-picking robot and is leveraging government backing to make it tougher and more reliable before a commercial release.