Deadline: 2 July 2025
UK registered SMEs can apply for funding to develop innovative farming solutions.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to invest in innovation projects.
Aims
- The aim of this competition is to:
- develop ambitious late stage innovative solutions, technologies, systems or approaches that will make significant steps towards improving productivity, profitability, increasing sustainability and resilience
- help the agriculture sector move towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050
- support commercialisation of late stage experimental development projects that are close to market and ultimately their adoption by farmers
Specific Themes
- Your project must address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one of the industry subsectors:
- livestock
- plants
- novel food production systems
- bioeconomy and agroforestry
Research Categories
- They will fund experimental development projects only as defined in the guidance on categories of research.
Funding Information
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has allocated up to £5 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. This competition is delivered by Innovate UK and funding will be in the form of a grant.
- Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £750,000 and £3 million.
- If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
- The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.
- For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:
- up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
- up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
Ineligible Projects
- They are not funding projects that:
- are not carried out by single SMEs
- are collaborative research and development (R&D) projects
- are not part of a company’s growth plan
- are unable to prove there is potential for return on investment and growth
- are equine specific
- involve wild caught fisheries
- involve aquaculture for fish production or human consumption
- involve cellular expression of proteins or cultivated meat
- involve cellular or acellular production systems, fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi for human consumption
- have the primary focus being Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA)
- are for the production of crops or plants for medicinal or pharmaceutical use
- do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England
- They cannot fund projects that are:
- dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
- dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product
Eligibility Criteria
- Your project must:
- last 18 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- not start before 1 April 2026
- be able to demonstrate how it will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England
- To lead a project your organisation must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
- be prepared to negotiate heads of terms for an aligned private investment
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
