Deadline: November 05, 2025
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £7.8 million to develop innovative agricultural solutions through collaborative R&D projects.
The aim of this competition is to develop solutions with the potential to improve overall productivity, sustainability, resilience and move existing agricultural sectors to net zero, ensure solutions have positive outputs for farmers, growers or foresters in commercially relevant situations, develop new agricultural solutions by collaboration through engagement with end users and the UK research community in the innovation process, and accelerate adoption by ensuring knowledge exchange with the wider sector and other stakeholders. Projects must significantly improve productivity, sustainability and the environmental impact of farming, progression towards net zero emissions, and resilience. Specific themes include farmed animals, plants, novel food production systems, and bioeconomy and agroforestry.
This funding opportunity is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The programme aims to support small R&D partnership projects that can demonstrate tangible benefits to farmers, growers, or foresters in England. Project proposals must be collaborative and carry out all work in the UK, with eligible total costs ranging from £1 million to £3 million and a maximum duration of 30 months. Projects must start by 1 July 2026 and finish by 31 December 2028.
Lead organisations must be UK businesses of any size with a commercial focus, while collaborative partners can include academic institutions, research organisations, charities, not-for-profits, and public sector organisations. Subcontractors are permitted, both UK-based and overseas, provided their use is justified. Non-UK partners can also participate but must fund their own work.
Funding is provided as a grant, with up to 70% of eligible project costs covered for micro or small organisations, 60% for medium organisations, and 50% for large organisations. Research organisations conducting non-economic activities may claim up to 100% of costs, or 80% of full economic costs for Je-S registered academic institutions. The programme encourages applications from diverse backgrounds and is committed to accessibility and inclusion.
The competition uses a two-stage assessment process, including interviews for shortlisted proposals. It adopts a portfolio approach to fund a variety of projects across different sectors and technology maturities, while ensuring compliance with UK Subsidy Control legislation. Certain project types, such as equine-specific projects, aquaculture for human consumption, or crops for medicinal use, are not eligible.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
