Funding boost for Aberdeenshire food and drink firms
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Aberdeenshire food and drink producers have been awarded almost £30,000 of funding for sustainable projects as part of an industry-wide net zero commitment.
Sutherlands of Portsoy, Newburgh-based Vertegrow and Grown Agritech in Aberdeen are all set to benefit from the scheme.
Seventeen firms from across the country have secured the funding from the Scottish Food and Drink Net Zero Challenge Fund for collaborative projects with Scottish universities to accelerate their journey to net zero.
Primary producers, manufacturers and hospitality businesses were among the funding recipients to carry out projects with eight different academic institutions.
The University of Aberdeen has partnered with Sutherlands of Portsoy and has been awarded £9995.04 to investigate the chemical composition of alternative fish smoking material derived from food and drink industry waste.
It will also work with Grown Agritech, which receives £9,989.43, to improve the effectiveness of indoor growing systems in making available fresh produce to local consumers.
Vertegrow receives £9,700 and has teamed up with SRUC to develop a vertical farming carbon calculator which will guide decisions regarding its future operations.
The fund aims to encourage businesses to take action on their environmental impacts in a meaningful way by partnering with world-leading experts and academics that Scotland has in engineering, manufacturing, biotechnology and data science.
Launched by Scotland Food and Drink Partnership and Interface in October 2021, the Net Zero Challenge Fund is a key initiative of the Scottish Government-backed industry recovery plan.
Sutherlands of Portsoy produces award-winning smoked salmon and other fish and shellfish.
John Farley, director at Sutherlands of Portsoy, said: “The Scottish Food and Drink Challenge Fund will allow us to investigate the potential to use waste products as alternative smoking materials from the food and drink industry.
"In repurposing this waste we will be creating a new revenue stream for our partners, innovating in our sector and benefitting the environment. It’s a win-win for all involved.”
Vertegrow is based at Waterside Farm near Newburgh and is at the forefront of growing crops vertically indoors in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.
The system allows it to supply only the nutrients that its crops need and it can minimise the energy and water requirements.
The company can also reduce its building footprint, freeing farmland up for other uses, like tree planting and regeneration.
Grown Agritech works to develop sustainable and innovative products that help in producing local, fresh, pesticide-free food and bring production close to consumption.
Its systems designed as per customer and market needs are comprised an integration of indoor food growing technologies and methods that will help place food growers closer to end-users, increasing the availability of local, fresh and pesticide free produce.
The aim is to lead to a reduction in resources wastage typically seen in the traditional agriculture supply chain and the negative environmental impact currently associated with the imports dependent food supply chain.
Jennifer McLachlan, strategy and external relations senior manager, said: “Congratulations to the recipients of the Net Zero Challenge Fund.
"Our industry-wide goal to reach net zero is ambitious, but by working closely with colleagues in academia, it is within our grasp.
“Food and drink businesses of all sizes have a role to play and innovation, like we’ve seen from the businesses receiving this funding, is happening across the sector.
"Reducing our carbon footprint isn’t just good for the environment, but it’s increasingly becoming a demand from consumers, retailers and wholesalers, so businesses need to adapt.
"Thankfully Scotland is already a leader in sustainable food production and with focused, collaborative efforts like the Net Zero Challenge Fund, we can protect both the planet and our bottom lines.”
For more information about the Scottish Food and Drink Net Zero Challenge Fund visit interface-online.org.uk/news/scottish-food-and-drink-net-zero-challenge-fund
