The Growing Sussex project has its first live site at Agricultural Investment’s Wicks Farm site, which is an all-year-round strawberry growing business.
The project has successfully installed a private 5G network across the site, enabling advanced monitoring and management of the glasshouses which will enable an increased level of data-driven decisions. This will be achieved through the use of IoT monitors which will support the growing environment to be more efficient.
Picture: Cllr Garry Wall and Lee Parker were hosted by David Moore, Director of Agriculture at Wicks Farm.
Being the first 5G-live site out of the four growing partners is a significant milestone for the project. It is the first step to supporting the food and drink sectors of West and East Sussex by integrating advanced digital technologies into agricultural practices.
Through collaboration with telecoms providers, technology innovators, educational institutions, and commercial growers, the project is developing real-world applications of 5G and IoT to enhance productivity and sustainability in food and drink production. Alongside this we are seeking to build a digitally skilled workforce that can provide the skills needed and drive demand for next-generation connectivity solutions.
The remaining Growing Partner sites; Plumpton College, Brinsbury College and The Green House Sussex will go live with their respective private 5G networks planned throughout the summer.
You can read more about the Growing Sussex Project within the latest edition of the South East Business magazine.
GROWING SUSSEX
Led by West Sussex County Council and funded by DSIT, Growing Sussex is an exciting project to advance digital technology and data-driven decision making in food, wine and plant production.
