As revealed by Steve Reed, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, there’ll be new opportunities to apply for productivity grants this coming year
In the wake of the closure of SFI, UK agriculture is being given the opportunity to apply for government funding for equipment, technology and innovation, with some schemes open now.
Launched on 28 April is the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT) – providing collaborative farmer-led, innovation grants. Defra says ADOPT is aimed at farmers and farm businesses to enable the trial of new on-farm technologies and approaches.
Grants will be available through Innovate UK to fund practical research projects of £50,000- £100,000, which strive to prove innovative ways of boosting farm productivity, food security and nature’s recovery across England.
Defra adds that to ensure farmers can access ADOPT and the evidence generated effectively, a bespoke Support Hub is available to support applications and encourage collaboration. The hub is led by RSK ADAS with support from the UK Agri Tech Centre and the Soil Association. Furthermore, the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) is one of the programme’s approved project facilitators.
The total funding pot stands at up to £20.6M for 2025/26. While issuing further guidance, Defra says to be eligible for a share, projects must focus on improving one or more of the following areas:
● Productivity and profitability
● Resilience to challenges such as climate change and market volatility
● Progress towards reducing emissions from farming
THE FARMING INNOVATION PROGRAMME (FIP)
In May, a further two competitions will open under the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP). Through FIP, funding is available to farmers or foresters who want to develop and use new, innovative methods and technologies.
The two competitions are as follows:
● £12.5M to support collaborative research into ways to reduce on-farm emissions, helping farms to become more sustainable and climate-resilient
● £12.5 to fund R&D using precision-bred crops to improve yield, reduce chemical inputs and enhance disease resistance – building on the new opportunities enabled by the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023
It’s believed further industry-led competitions will be revealed by Defra offering up to £17.6M funding across various projects.
THE FARMING EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY FUND (FETF)
FETF offers grants for equipment, technology and small infrastructure to boost productivity, improve slurry management and enhance animal health and welfare.
Defra says during the past three rounds of FETF, farmers, foresters and other contractors in England have received more than £107M to buy new equipment and technology.
Another round of FETF is being launched imminently, with grants of £1000- £25,000 available.
This article was taken from the latest issue of CPM. For more articles like this, subscribe here.
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