Government publishes Farming Innovation Programme

On 20 October 2021, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs published a Farming Innovation Programme to provide £17.5 million in funds support for agri-tech innovation to farmers, growers, foresters, and businesses. This is the first round of three funds making up the programme.

The long term funding programme aims to help farmers, growers, foresters, and businesses to find innovative ways to maximise productivity and help sustain the environment in England’s agricultural and horticultural sectors.

This first fund to open is the ‘Industry-led R&D Partnerships Fund’, where farmers, growers, foresters, and businesses can bid for funding to develop new technologies and practices that will help them overcome challenges and exploit new opportunities in the sector.

The programme is part of the measures introduced in the government’s agricultural transition plan to achieve net zero in England’s agricultural and horticultural sector.

Early next year, Defra will launch the ‘Farming Futures R&D Fund’, for strategic projects aimed at tackling climate change by reducing the environmental impact of farming. The third of the funds, called ‘Projects to Accelerate Adoption Fund’, will launch later in 2022 to support farmer-led projects to trial the viability of new innovations on farms.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Jo Churchill, said:

• “Innovation is vital to address the challenges facing the agricultural and horticultural sectors. New ideas, technologies, and processes will play a key role in helping farmers, growers, and businesses to become more productive.
• The Farming Innovation Programme will enable the sector to be more environmentally sustainable and resilient, whilst helping it achieve its net zero ambitions. I encourage all eligible businesses and individuals to apply.”

Source: Defra: Farming Innovation Programme launched to boost the future of farming (20 October 2021).