Defra announces £16.5m of funding for agri-tech projects
© Roman/Adobe Stock Farmers, businesses and researchers are being invited to link up to apply for their share of £16.5m of Defra funding for sustainable farming projects.
The projects will help drive innovation in agriculture and horticulture as part of feasibility round two of the UK government’s £270m Farming Innovation Programme.
This aims to support farmers and growers with novel ideas to help grow food production, encourage sustainable farming practices and increase productivity.
See also: Research projects scoop £8m from Farming Innovation Fund
Applications for the two new funding competitions, run in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will open on Wednesday 31 August.
A £5.5m funding competition for Feasibility projects will offer grants for projects worth between £200,000 and £500,000 to support research and development (R&D) through the difficult testing phase of an idea to see if it is worth investing in further.
The Small R&D Partnership competition, meanwhile, offers a share of £11m in grant funding for industrial research projects worth between £1m and £3m.
These bigger projects will further develop new solutions that will ultimately address major on-farm or immediate post-farmgate challenges or opportunities, such as enhancing productivity and sustainability.
Steve Double, UK farming innovation minister, said: “Our £270m investment in farming innovation is designed to help take the UK’s world-leading research ideas and turn them into practical solutions to support healthy soils, abundant pollinators and clean water, alongside profitable food production.”
Past winners unveiled
Previous winners of funding for projects under the first round of Small R&D Partnership Projects, Feasibility Projects and Research Starter Projects, were also revealed by UKRI.
These include Muddy Machines’ vegetable harvesting agri-robots, Farmsense’s use of artificial intelligence software to optimise welfare in pigs and Blue Planet II, a new project that aims to use autonomous technology to further increase fruit crop yield and quality.
Defra plans to spend around £600m to support farmers to invest in productivity, animal health and welfare, innovation, research and development over the next three years.
Country Land and Business Association president Mark Tufnell said: “Although £600m of various packages and grants over the next three years is a step in the right direction, it is critical that government continues to work closely with farmers so that we can continuously improve our ability to feed the nation and protect the natural environment.”