Back
GrantEngland

Farming Innovation Programme

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), delivered by Innovate UK (UKRI)

Details being confirmed

Some figures on this page (such as the amount, deadline, or rate) are provisional and due a fresh verification pass against the official source. Please confirm the current details using the official link below before relying on this information.

Description

Defra's agri-tech research and development programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK (UKRI) rather than through the Rural Payments Agency — genuinely separate from the Farming Investment Fund despite the similar name. Funds collaborative R&D projects (a lead business plus at least one other partner, e.g. a research organisation or farmer) to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience across farming, growing and forestry. Runs as a series of themed, periodically-reopening competitions on the Innovation Funding Service rather than one continuous scheme: as of September 2026, live competitions include Feasibility Studies Round 5 (£200,000-£500,000 projects from a £15 million pot, closing 9 September 2026), Small R&D Partnerships Round 5 (£1-3 million, closing 14 October 2026), and the Farming Futures: Automation and Robotics Round 2 competition (£20 million available, closing 30 September 2026), alongside the smaller, genuinely rolling ADOPT grant (roughly £2,500-£200,000) for on-farm trials of pre-commercial equipment.

Amount

Individual competition grants roughly £2,500 (ADOPT) up to £1-3 million (Small R&D Partnerships); total competition pots have ranged up to £20 million (e.g. Automation and Robotics Round 2)

Deadline

Rolling / no fixed deadline

Eligibility summary

  • Available in: England.
  • Applicant must be a registered business.
  • Most relevant to: Agriculture & Fisheries, Research & Development.
Notes
Because this runs as a rotating set of themed competitions rather than one fixed scheme, the specific competitions and deadlines listed will go stale quickly — check farminginnovation.ukri.org or apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk for what is currently open before relying on the amounts/dates above.
Requirement
UK-registered businesses (typically farming, agri-tech, or forestry-related) collaborating on an R&D project, applying to a specific open competition on the Innovation Funding Service; the ADOPT strand has its own lighter-touch, rolling application process for smaller on-farm equipment trials.

Want help with this application?

R&D claims and business grants are exactly where a specialist can make the biggest difference — both in claim size and time saved. We're building relationships with vetted professionals who can help with applications like this — register your interest and we'll follow up when we have someone to recommend.

Some of the organisations we may connect you with pay us a referral fee if you use their service. This never affects which listings you see in the directory. No live partner is confirmed yet for this listing.

You can also do this yourself for free via the official source

How to apply

Apply via the Innovation Funding Service (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk) for a specific open competition, or via the ADOPT grant's own rolling process — see farminginnovation.ukri.org for currently open competitions and deadlines.

View official source

Last verified: 1 September 2026. See the footer disclaimer — this is general information, not financial or tax advice.