Chennai-based Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) has entered into a new international collaboration with the UK based Harper Adams University (HAU) to develop advanced technological, agronomic and educational solutions for the delivery of sustainable food production around the world.

The Agriculture Engineering Precision and Innovation – Agri-EPI centre on the campus of Harper Adams University is one of the four national centres for agricultural innovation. It was created as part of the  UK government’s £17.7m (Rs 159 crore) investment from UK’s strategy for agricultural technologies to help provide engineered and precise agricultural solutions for the agri-food industry.

The collaboration with HAU’s Agri-EPI centre will include joint research projects and programmes, joint publications and staff exchanges. The areas of research will focus on agriculture, engineering and technology development programmes on autonomous farming and energy efficient implements, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems and sensor technologies, and the ‘Hands-free hectare’ project to be implemented at JFarm India – TAFE’s adaptive agriculture research centre.

TAFE president and COO, T R Kesavan said, “TAFE’s collaboration with Harper Adams – Agri-EPI centre is a reaffirmation of TAFE’s commitment to its vision of ‘Cultivating the World’ as it aims to combine integrated farming techniques with precise agriculture and engineering to develop sustainable farming models that work for both marginal and large farms.”

Engineers from TAFE have moved into the new Agri-EPI centre on the Harper Adams University campus to work on the centre’s first major research and development project.  Besides tractors and farm machinery, TAFE manufactures diesel engines, silent gensets, batteries, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, gears and transmission components, and has business interests in vehicle franchises and plantations. According to TAFE officials, the company has a turnover in excess of US $1.3 billion (Rs 8,769 crore).

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