East at forefront of farming development

Is this the future of farming?

If a peaceful pastoral scene conjures up an image of farming in your mind, think again, for the farming of the future is anything but.

High-tech farming has just had a boost of £160m with the east tipped to get a large share of the money. It's all part of a government strategy to make the UK a world leader in farming technology and science.

"There's been a lot of change in the skills that the farming sector needs. There will still be jobs in the field but most will be driving machines. They will be controlling sensors and systems," says George Freeman, Life Science Advisor to the government and Mid Norfolk MP.

This region saw the start of the agricultural revolution. Now it has world renowned centres of agricultural research.

"We're setting out a long term strategy for how we help Britain lead in the farming of tomorrow. We're going through a farming revolution that's seeing the adoption of new technologies, precision farming, high-tech engineering and sat nav technology.

"British farming is producing more for less - higher yields with lower chemical and energy inputs. The world by 20202 has got to double its production using half as much water and energy on the same amount of land. It's a global challenge and this country and this region are right at the forefront of that," Mr Freeman asserts.

It's a further endorsement of the importance of the Norwich-Cambridge Innovation Corridor. The multi million pound investment aims to get science will mean regional science hubs, more industry investment and hopefully more jobs.