Apply for a share of up to £12.5 million to develop innovative solutions for sustainable and resilient farming.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is investing up to £12.5 million in innovation projects through the Farming Innovation Programme, which is a partnership with UKRI’s Transforming Food Production Challenge and delivered by Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to fund collaborative development projects with ambitious solutions. Solutions provided will enable sustainable and resilient farming through addressing biotic and abiotic stresses in agriculture, horticulture and forestry to:
- support specific recommendations from recent Defra reviews, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 and the Government Food Strategy
- resolve key issues affecting the sector, where sustainable and resilient farming solutions can mitigate climate challenges and increase productivity
Your proposal must be able to demonstrate how the project will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England.
The competition is split into two strands.
The closing date for both strands is midday on Wednesday 19 July 2023.
Feasibility strand
This strand is about evaluating emerging solutions with the United Kingdom’s world-leading research base, agri-tech businesses, SMEs and the UK agricultural sector to develop innovations in agriculture, forestry and horticulture.
Your project’s total costs must be between £200,000 and £500,000.
Find out more about the Feasibility strand and how to apply.
Industrial Research strand
This strand is about progressing emerging solutions to new products, processes and services with the UK’s world-leading research base, agri-tech businesses, SMEs and the UK agricultural sector to develop innovations in agriculture, forestry and horticulture.
Your project’s total costs must be between £500,000 and £1 million.
Find out more about the Industrial Research strand and how to apply.