A Groundbreaking Vision for Precision Agriculture

James Green, Group Director of Agriculture at G’s Group—one of Europe’s leading fresh produce companies—is driving a strategic transformation in what he views as the golden age of agriculture. A seasoned finance professional with extensive experience in the agricultural sector, he is leading a transformation that unites financial discipline with advanced agronomic innovation.

Committed to developing regenerative and effective farming practices, Green is at the forefront of integrating Industry 4.0 technologies—including big data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, controlled environment agriculture, biotechnology, blockchain, and autonomous systems—to meet the global challenge of feeding more people with fewer resources. He is focused on quantifying and maximising the value delivered across all three bottom lines: profit, planet, and people.

A chartered accountant by training and an alumnus of the ICAEW Future Talent Enrichment Programme, Green leverages his analytical expertise to embed rigorous costaccounting across G’s Group’s sprawling network of farms and production units. His remit spans the UK, mainland Europe, Senegal and North America, where he leads multidisciplinary teams of agronomists, technical specialists and supply-chain professionals in delivering premium salads and vegetables to major retailers.

A relentless focus on data-driven decision-making has characterised Green’s ascent through G’s Group. Early in his tenure, he recognised that tight margins in commodity crop production could only be navigated by giving each profit centre clear visibility of its break-even metrics and margin targets. By rolling out standardised cost-accounting frameworks, he empowered farm managers and field teams to track performance in real time, turning every unit into a self-monitored, accountable business within the larger enterprise.

Building on this foundation, Green has spearheaded G’s Group’s agritech transformation. Under his leadership, the company forged partnerships with leading universities and technology providers to pilot innovations such as precision fertilisation, remote sensing and variable-rate application equipment. In one landmark trial, lettuce crops managed with individual-plant treatment yielded more uniform heads and significantly reduced input costs. These early successes validated his conviction that precision agriculture can fundamentally reshape the economics of large-scale cropping.

Digital transformation runs in parallel with Green’s agronomic initiatives. He championed the adoption of cloud-based platforms to consolidate field-operation data, inventory levels, and logistics flows into a single, real-time dashboard. This holistic visibility has sharpened demand forecasting for perishable produce, minimised post-harvest waste and strengthened collaboration between growers and G’s Group’s supply-chain teams. The result? Improved environmental outcomes, lower operating costs and a more resilient distribution network.

Beyond the farm, Green is a prolific industry voice, translating G’s Group’s breakthroughs into broader sectoral insights. At the CUPGRA Potato Conference 2024 in Cambridge, he showcased how lessons from salad cropping, such as sensor-driven moisture management, could enhance tuber quality and yield consistency. At the recent Food Security Innovations conference hosted by MDS Ltd, he took attendees behind the scenes of G’s Group’s sustainability roadmap, detailing investments in regenerative practices, machine-learning harvest-prediction models and robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks.

Looking ahead, Green is developing “digital twins” for farm operations. These virtual replicas integrate sensor feeds, weather forecasts, and predictive algorithms to simulate yield outcomes and optimise inputs before any seed touches soil. He also places immense value on talent cultivation—funding postgraduate scholarships in data science for agronomy and establishing cross-sector exchange programs to seed fresh ideas across the industry. Through this seamless integration of financial rigour, scientific collaboration and digital innovation, Green is charting a bold, sustainable future for agriculture. His vision of a “golden age”—where AI, robotics and regenerative practices converge—promises to help G’s Group sustainably feed a growing population with ever-scarcer resources, setting a new standard for agricultural excellence in Europe and beyond.