£44m for agriculture in government’s water plan

Farmers will be able to access additional funding from Defra for building on-farm reservoirs, investing in irrigation equipment, and improving slurry storage.

The funding has been made available through a wider government “Plan for Water”, announced by Defra on 4 April.

The plan includes a £10m round of Defra’s Water Management Grant, to provide irrigation equipment and aid the building of reservoirs for about 100 farmers.

See also: Defra slurry grants: What’s on offer and who can apply?

Applications for grants of between £35,000 and £500,000 through the scheme will open later in April.

The government is  aiming to increase on-farm water storage capacity by 66% by 2050.

Work is also being done to speed up the process for farmers to obtain abstraction licences, but limits may be put in place to avoid overabstraction of water in vulnerable areas.

Additional slurry grants

Funding made available for farm businesses through the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant has also been more than doubled to £34m by government, with further rounds of the scheme due to be announced later in 2023.

This funding is available for farmers in England to invest in covered slurry stores, and equipment such as slurry separators and pumps.

Defra farming minister Mark Spencer said: “Communities across the country want to see clean and plentiful water in our rivers and streams, and farmers have a huge role in helping to deliver this. 

“We know that farmers want to do the right thing, which is why – as part of today’s Plan for Water – we’re providing even more funding for farmers, both to reduce their water pollution from slurry and better manage the water on their farms.”