At the Sustainable Foods conference in London this week, Growing Kent & Medway Programme Director Simon Barnes shared his vision for how regional collaboration can bring together the fragmented UK food system. Speaking on Wednesday 28th January 2026, Simon explored the vital role that local government, businesses, and universities play in driving growth.

Our third Be Your Own Boss programme concluded with a Showcase at Sunflower House, Folkestone, on Monday, 1st December 2025. Be Your Own Boss is our flagship start-up programme, working with communities to create new enterprises and develop entrepreneurial mindsets.

An independent report by strategic consultant Strat House has valued the Growing Kent & Medway brand at between £3.2 million and £5.5 million.

How a regional strategic approach to food systems could tackle health inequalities in the UK. Simon Barnes, Director for Growing Kent & Medway, reflects on the IGD ‘Future of UK Food Systems’ Conference, which took place on 1st October 2025 in London.

What if there was a simple soil addition that could make your plants more resilient to drought, reduce the need for fertiliser, and actively fight climate change by locking carbon away for centuries? It sounds too good to be true, but this powerful tool exists. It's called biochar, and – despite being used for centuries – it's a hot topic among farmers, gardeners, and climate scientists alike.

Our recent STEM-focused event for secondary school children identified significant gaps in young people’s awareness and understanding of the agri-tech sector. So how do we attract the next generation of talent and skills needed to support this high-growth potential industry? Students observe hoverfly behaviour In the ‘ UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy ’ published earlier this year by the Department for Business and Trade, agri-tech was identified as one of six frontier manufac

Over 180 secondary school students experienced how science and technology impact the food we grow, at our event run in collaboration with the STEM Hub.

Robert Mitchell Farms applied for a sustainability grant from Growing Green to replace an old, inefficient cold store door, resulting in energy savings of £1,300 per year.

A research project to increase carbon and increase biodiversity in UK vineyards will use cutting-edge acoustic technology to monitor the impact of its trials.

Innovative products made from agricultural waste materials are being tested for their benefits to human and crop health,

A trial looking into new apple canker disease management strategies has revealed practical steps to reduce tree mortality and trunk cankers in newly planted orchards by 50%.

Learn about the six high-impact projects supported by our second Business Sustainability Challenge.

Four businesses using cutting-edge technology to advance sustainable horticulture have been awarded £500,000 to commercialise their prototypes by Growing Kent & Medway.

Discover the winning projects from our second round of Business Innovation Voucher competition.

Funding of up to £350,000 was awarded through our Collaborative Research and Development Grants to connect businesses with Kent-based research organisations. Apple trees grown using methods designed to shorten the breeding lifecycle Awarded through a competitive process, proposed projects had to support the transition to net-zero carbon emissions and improve productivity and sustainability in horticultural and plant-based food and drink production. The first round of winners

Seven projects share £262,000 as winners of the first round of our Business Sustainability Challenge.

Meet the winners of our first round of Business Innovation Vouchers.

Over £1m in funding has been awarded by Growing Kent & Medway to six innovative projects in Kent that will make horticultural and plant-based food and drink production more sustainable. Jason Hirst, Evogro The collaborative projects will not only help the industry reduce its impact on climate change, helping to reduce carbon emissions, cut food waste or improve the efficiency of resources such as water and energy, but also enable food crops to be more resilient to the impacts