Agriculture sits at the centre of major climate and economic pressures. Farmers are being asked to produce more with fewer emissions, while innovators race to develop technologies that can unlock a more resilient, productive and climate-positive future. The challenge is not a lack of ideas, but how to scale the right ones in real farm systems, supply chains and regulatory environments.
FASTA exists to help close that gap. Delivered by the UK Agri-Tech Centre in partnership with the Carbon Trust, FASTA supports agri-tech solutions that enable Net Zero agriculture. Its first focus is Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), the insight needed to reward improvement, direct investment and give the sector confidence in its climate progress.
The recent FASTA launch event brought together the first cohort of MRV innovators with industry partners, retailers, banks, insurers and producers. The centrepiece of the event was a panel discussion featuring Joseph McDonnell from IGD, Megan Powell from ASDA and Carolien Samson from Oxbury Bank, chaired by Paddy Tarbuck from the UK Agri-Tech Centre. Together, they offered a candid view of what is slowing progress, what is gaining momentum and where collaboration should be prioritised.
Below is a distilled, action-ready summary of the key insights from the panel for agri-tech businesses and innovators.
The big challenges and the opportunities behind them
The panel was clear: MRV is not failing, it is evolving. And like any emerging market, there are practical challenges that innovators now have a real opportunity to solve.
While the need for better measurement has never been greater, today’s MRV tools are often too costly, fragmented or inconsistent to scale effectively. But these barriers are also the areas where innovation can have the biggest impact.
“Perfect data is no use if it is not scalable” — Carolien Samson, Oxbury Bank
MRV needs to be:
- Capable of operating at scale
- Simple and low-burden for farmers
- Deliver outputs that regulators and finance can trust
- Produced in formats that can feed decision-making models and risk assessments
Crucially, these gaps are not dead ends — they are design briefs for the next wave of agri-tech innovation.
What is holding back MRV adoption?
Cost and risk in the supply chain
For retailers and processors, MRV remains expensive, especially in sectors such as beef, where the supply chain is highly fragmented.
- Costs risk being passed to consumers
- Retailers fear duplication of effort
- Animals often move through several farms, complicating data capture
“We need industry-wide approaches. Otherwise, we create cost, confusion and no progress.” Megan Powell, ASDA.
Data infrastructure is not fit for purpose
Speakers highlighted national gaps, including:
- Lack of harmonised greenhouse gas accounting
- Inconsistent data formats
- Little interoperability between systems
- Unclear technical regulations for carbon removals
Joseph McDonnell from IGD described data infrastructure as “the biggest challenge facing the country right now.”
Trust and data ownership
Farmers increasingly see their data as a commodity. Yet today:
- Value often flows elsewhere
- Data is repeatedly requested in different formats
- Farmers fear data could be used against them
“Suspicion, real or perceived, kills adoption.” Carolien Samson, Oxbury Bank.
Slow feedback loops for farmers
Farmers often wait a year or more for the impact of a change to show. This delays learning and slows uptake of new practices.
Real-time or in-season insights into soil condition, crop performance, or input optimisation were identified as essential for behavioural change.
What buyers need from agri-tech innovators
FASTA innovators raised an important question:
How can startups succeed commercially in a market that encourages collaboration across retailers, banks and supply chain partners? With multiple potential buyers and precompetitive expectations, how do young companies navigate this and still build a viable long-term business?
Clear value propositions for the right buyer
Procurement, risk and operations teams often hold the budget, not sustainability teams.
“Find the person who feels the pain your solution solves. That might be the risk team, the procurement team or the operations manager.” Carolien Samson, Oxbury Bank.
Action: Identify the budget holder early and tailor your pitch to their specific operational or financial pressures.
Evidence of return on investment — fast
Farmers want solutions that improve yield, reduce inputs or increase resilience. Supply chain partners want consistent MRV data.
Action: Innovators should speak in terms of profitability and practicality, not just sustainability.
Certainty and longevity
Startups need clarity on emerging standards and stability from supply chain partners.
Action: Show commitment to long-term alignment by mapping how your solution fits current and future standards.
Build for real farm workflows, not idealised ones
The most adoptable technologies are those that slot into existing routines with minimal effort.
Action: Co-design with farmers and test early, reduce data entry and make your solution save time from day one.
Design for interoperability from the start
Closed systems slow adoption and frustrate both farmers and enterprise buyers.
Action: build open APIs, align with emerging standards and integrate with common farm management platforms to reduce friction for farmers and supply chains.
Map the buyer journey clearly
Large organisations require clear business cases.
Action: understand procurement cycles, budget triggers and the commercial pain point your solution solves.
FASTA’s role is to help them navigate this complexity and connect with decision-makers who can provide certainty.
Insights from the panel: What needs to happen next
A single national vision for MRV
Speakers called for shared technical frameworks, shared data infrastructure and a coordinated approach to a national baseline. Fragmentation is currently slowing everything.
Blended finance models
Several panellists also highlighted the need for a clearer public and private finance model to support national-scale progress.
As Joseph McDonnell noted, “Government needs a business case, not another ask.” The message to innovators was clear: solutions that quantify impact, unlock investment and show a credible return will gain traction faster. Public funding can help de-risk early adoption, but long-term scaling will depend on private investors seeing genuine commercial value.
Paying farmers for data
A clear consensus emerged: Farmers must be fairly compensated for the data that drives value elsewhere.
Collaboration across the supply chain
Shared farmers mean shared data needs, shared standards and shared responsibility for reducing friction.
MRV must support farm businesses
The defining question for any MRV tool:
- Does it improve farm profitability?
- Does it reduce risk or waste?
- Does it open new revenue streams?
If not, adoption will stall.
“Do not add to the farmer’s burden. If it does not save them time or money, it will not be used.” Carolien Samson, Oxbury Bank
The role FASTA will play
These challenges reflect exactly why FASTA exists: to help innovators scale technologies and solutions that enable a more sustainable, productive and resilient UK agriculture sector.
FASTA is already:
- Providing tailored mentorship from the Carbon Trust and industry specialists
- Validating solutions through UK Agri-Tech Centre facilities
- Connecting innovators with real commercial use cases
- Enabling collaboration with FASTA partners, including banks, retailers and policymakers
FASTA is building the ecosystem needed to take agri-tech solutions from isolated pilots to nationwide adoption.
Conclusion: Momentum, clarity and shared purpose
The FASTA launch event showed that the UK has the ideas, the intent and the innovation talent it needed for Net Zero agriculture. What has been missing is coordination, consistent data and aligned expectations. FASTA’s mission is simple and urgent: to accelerate the scaling of commercially viable and reliable agri-tech solutions that enable Net Zero agriculture.
Key takeaways for agri-tech innovators:
- Collaborate early and often
- Test directly with farmers
- Integrate, do not isolate
- Build evidence, not just features
- Design for clear commercial value
The MRV challenge is real, but the right ecosystem, the opportunity to accelerate solutions that transition to Net Zero agriculture, is far greater.
