Marks & Spencer tries out ‘robot farming’ scheme to cut emissions and improve product

Marks & Spencer has deployed technology such as robots that carry out bed forming, planting and weeding, and two different types of drone that monitor and maintain crop health.

The first product farmed using the new methods, parsnips, is expected to be on sale from November.

The retailer said that the scheme, financed by its Plan A Net Zero accelerator fund and run in partnership with supplier Huntapac, will help it in its mission to become net zero across the business by 2040 as agriculture is a big contributor to its carbon emissions.

The retailer said the use of new technology is bringing other benefits. The adoption of AI enables better monitoring and improvement of crop health, while during wet weather robots are able to plant the crop in conditions that would have been impossible for a tractor.

M&S Food technical director Andrew Clappen said: “Innovation is at the heart of M&S Food and our Plan A Accelerator Fund offers us the opportunity to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of our suppliers.

“Projects like this help us move towards being a net-zero business across all our operations and entire supply chain by 2040, while focusing on the quality of produce that M&S is famous for.

“Agriculture is one of our biggest contributors to emissions, so it’s important that we find new lower-impact farming methods.”