The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has partnered with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to help fund projects that benefit farmers, growers and foresters in England.
The funding is part of the Farming Innovation Programme, which is designed to help the UK achieve its net zero ambitions.
This funding is not just for the farming industry, but is open to UK businesses undertaking projects that:
- Help farmers, growers and foresters increase productivity, sustainability and resilience;
- Reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and horticulture;
- Apply agricultural research to provide real benefits for farmers, growers and foresters; and
- Use science to develop solutions for the practical challenges in agriculture and horticulture.
The funding is awarded through a series of competitions, with applications judged against quite specific criteria. Each competition is published on the Innovation Funding Service page.
The competitions vary in relevance, with some being more niche than others. The application guidance is fairly extensive – below we focus on providing an overview of some of the most notable competitions.
Farming Innovation Programme Small R&D Partnership Projects round 3
- UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £9.8 million for Small R&D Partnership Projects;
- Now open; and
- Closes 25 October 2023.
Aim
The competition is designed to award funding to proposals that outline how they intend to improve overall productivity, sustainability and resilience – helping existing agricultural sectors to achieve net zero.
Proposals should cover what the positive output will be for farmers, growers or foresters in commercially relevant situations.
The project must address a significant industry challenge in at least one of these industry subsectors – livestock, plants, novel food production systems and bioeconomy and agroforestry.
Project size
The project must have total costs must be between £1million and £3million.
Eligibility criteria
Projects must
- Start by 1 June 2024;
- End by 31 May 2027;
- Last up to 36 months; and
- Be collaborative – to lead a project your organisation must collaborate with other UK registered organisations.
How to apply
- Guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service must be read prior to an application being made;
- If applications pass the first stage of assessments, businesses may be invited to attend an interview; and
- Further details on how to apply can be found here.
Farming Innovation Programme – feasibility round 3
- UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £4.5 million for feasibility projects;
- Opens 18 September 2023; and
- Closes 15 November 2023.
Aim
This funding is intended for projects that investigate early-stage solutions that have the potential to substantially improve the overall productivity, sustainability and resilience of farming – moving existing agricultural sectors to net zero.
Project size
The project must have total costs of between £200,000 and £500,000.
Eligibility criteria
Projects must
- Start by 1 May 2024;
- End by 30 April 2026;
- Last between 12 months and 24 months;
- Carry out all of their work in the UK; and
- Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
How to apply
- Guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service must be read prior to an application being made
- There are specific questions to answer for this funding, with each one being worth a certain number of points; and
- Further details on how to apply can be found here.
For further information on any of the grants detailed please get in touch with our experts below.
