Farming
Animals/crops that it might be useful for techfolk to cultivate:
Sheep: Wool is naturally fire-resistant and retains warmth even when wet. (Also: comedy potential for a Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog scenario with Skibidis trying to steal the sheep for their meat while the Alliance shepherds stop them.)
Goats: There are experiments with genetically modifying goats (which are similar enough to sheep that it wouldn't be too outlandish to imagine a hybrid with sheep-like wool) to produce spider silk protein in their milk. Spider silk protein has many potential uses (stronger than steel by weight) if only it could be harvested at scale, and it's easier to wrangle a few goats than thousands of spiders.
Latex: Rubber trees yield latex, which has uses for tyres, conveyor belts and disposable gloves. Yeah, there's a lot of rubber still lying around waiting to be re-used, but rubber perishes eventually. If the Alliance plans ahead, they'll want to get some rubber trees going so they can harvest some more when they need it. I went to look for a source on the goats making spider silk protein and the one I found says that the next step is to modify alfalfa plants rather than goats. Alfalfa is a very proteinaceous plant so it makes sense to use that as a base for protein modification. (Plus plants are easier still to look after than livestock.) Alfalfa and hevea (the rubber tree) are both rosids. Maybe the Alliance finds a way to make a genetically modified hybrid plant that makes all kinds of useful things in one harvest.
Crops with solar: A possible Union endeavour - solar power for robots and food for skibs. Hanging solar panels above tomatoes and jalapeños increased the crop yields while using less water, and increased the efficiency of the solar panels.