Farming Innovation: find out about funding
The Farming Innovation Programme is part of Defra’s investment in innovation, research and development.
Defra is partnering with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (opens in new window) on the programme.
All funding will be awarded through competitions. This means applications for each competition will be judged, and only the successful ones will be funded.
When the competitions open, full details will be published on the Innovation Funding Service (opens in new window).
This information, about upcoming competitions, is to help you plan ahead.
The programme’s aims are to:
- 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
- use science to develop solutions for the practical challenges in agriculture and horticulture
Funding will be awarded through a range of competitions from 2021 for a number of years.
This is part of Defra’s Future Farming and Countryside Programme (opens in new window).
What we’re looking for
All the competitions in the programme have been developed so that insights from science and business can be applied to challenges in agriculture and horticulture.
To get funding, you must work in collaboration with a team.
Once the competition is open, you can get help from KTN (opens in new window) to find the right people to work with on your project.
We want to encourage this collaboration to develop solutions and improvements that can meet real environmental and industry challenges.
Plan ahead – competition schedule
Competitions will be published on the Innovation Funding Service (opens in new window) as they open, with full eligibility and application information for each one.
You can find early information here to help you plan your projects and applications:
| What you want to do | Take a look at | Details Available |
|---|---|---|
| Explore an idea in its early stages and develop a team | Research Starter Projects | Oct 2021 |
| Check whether an idea works in practice and what to do next | Feasibility Projects | Oct 2021 |
| Research or develop a new product or service | Small R&D Partnership Projects | Oct 2021 |
| Research or develop a new product or service | Large R&D Partnership Projects | Mar 2022 |
| Work on longer-term farming solutions | Farming Futures R&D Fund | Feb 2022 |
Further information
The Farming Innovation Programme will help the UK achieve its net zero ambitions and drive a green recovery.
Find out more about the changes to agricultural policy in England in Defra’s ‘Agricultural Transition Plan’ (opens in new window).
A summary of the transition plan, for farmers and land managers, is given in ‘Farming is Changing’ (opens in new window).