Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko.
Field Notes · Events

World Agri-Tech London 2026, Day 1: Invention Isn't the Problem. Adoption Is.

Field notes from Day 1 of the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London: precision-bred crops, a crowded biostimulant market, input dependency, offline resilience, and why farmers want insight, not more data.

World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2026 📍London, UK
Jane Byrne standing alone on a wide stage in front of a bright green and yellow backdrop reading World Agri-Tech, London, September 22 to 23, 2026, with two white chairs beside her.
Jane Byrne opening the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, London, September 2026.

World Agri-Tech Summit London, Day 1. But I prefer to call it the World Agri-Tech Party 🤩

LinkedIn generously gives me 3,000 characters to describe a day worth a book at least. Or even two :)

The second book would definitely be about the beautiful view of Canary Wharf from the window. But the first big, thick book, printed on budget paper, would be about what is actually slowing agritech down.

It's definitely not only about biology. We're seeing interesting progress there, but there is also the people-money-government side. And this is where the attention goes.

Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko and Jane Byrne, both wearing green lanyards, in a selfie beside a World Agri-Tech banner in a hotel lobby.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Jane Byrne, Conference Producer of World Agri-Tech London.

1. Biologicals and gene editing dominated the startup conversation

In England, Defra has now confirmed five crops as precision bred, the first step to market:

  • high-lipid barley,
  • low-asparagine wheat,
  • disease-resistant Maris Piper potato,
  • everbearing strawberries, and
  • the high-vitamin D "Sunshine" tomato.

Meanwhile, on approvals: EU approval for a biocontrol can take 10–12 years, against about 3 in the US and 2 in Brazil. Hence, European startups sell out or launch elsewhere.

Stephen Morgan MP speaking from a lectern on the summit stage, with a large screen behind him reading Ministerial Address, Stephen Morgan MP, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Ministerial Address by Stephen Morgan MP, UK Minister for Agriculture and Food.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko in a selfie with Stephen Morgan MP, who is wearing a dark suit and tie, in a wood-panelled conference foyer.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Stephen Morgan MP, UK Minister for Agriculture and Food, at World Agri-Tech London 2026.

2. "Does it work?" has become "How much does it cost?"

One person told me that the biostimulant market is really crowded, and the practical question has moved on:

  1. "Does it work?"
  2. has become "How much does it cost?"
  3. and "How do we win the buyer's trust?"

So the startups that break through run independent, multi-season trials, and then keep working with those who bought, to measure their success and sell further with real names of happy clients.

Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko and Mark Jarman, in glasses and a light jacket, in a selfie in the conference foyer with delegates in the background.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Mark Jarman from AgriTERRA.

3. Input dependency is the real risk

So now the focus is less on maximising yield and more on:

  • cutting fertiliser,
  • cutting pesticides, and
  • reducing irrigation dependency.

I heard that a tonne of urea now costs around 2.5 tonnes of wheat, up from 1.2 before the war in Ukraine.

Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko in a selfie with Professor Mario Caccamo, in a dark jacket and open shirt, in front of a marble wall in the conference foyer.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Professor Mario Caccamo from KAUST, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

4. Pitch before the budgets close

I also noted down for myself (perhaps you are also curious 😉) a tip from Lely on how startups can succeed with global corporations: pitch before budgets are closed in October.

This is a real insight, I believe. Only two days left, though :)

Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko and Ming Fung Chua, both with green summit lanyards, smiling in a selfie in the conference foyer.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Ming Fung Chua from Elevate Dairy, Australia's first dairy-focused landing pad, by the Gardiner Foundation.

5. Resilience now means working offline

With natural disasters and wars, resilience now means working offline. In Ukraine, farm tools must run without GPS or internet, and mapping mines on fields is a digital priority.

It also matters for rural areas where connectivity is poor (thanks, Starlink, but it's a pretty expensive magic wand that many farmers can't afford).

Food security = national security.

Volodymyr Pugachov speaking on the summit stage with a microphone, beside a slide titled Farming at the Edge: Growing Food Under Extreme Constraints, showing the digital stack on a Ukrainian farm.
Volodymyr Pugachov, Regional Director of Donau Soja Eastern Europe and Deputy Chair of the Agricultural and Food Committee, Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce.

Bonus: farmers want insight, not more data 🤔

I met an amazing farmer who told me they have terabytes of data collected by tractors in their fields and don't know what to do with it.

Dyson Farming has collected almost 2 billion data points in five years.

Feels like data collection is solved. Next: quality and actions.

Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko and Chloe Marshall smiling in a selfie in a wood-panelled conference hall, with a buffet table behind them.
Dr. Maryna Kuzmenko with Chloe Marshall, Field Implementation Consultant at Hugh Lowe Farms.

So, what is actually slowing agritech down?

It's clear that with the power of AI + tech today, invention is not the problem. Data is not an issue either.

Adoption is. Trials, regulation, finance and trust.

By the way, AI in agriculture was Day 2.

Jane Byrne, Alexia Calles, Waveney Metcalfe — great job 🌟🌱🚀