Defra Allocates £16.5m to Agri-Tech Initiatives
Defra is inviting farmers, businesses, and researchers to collaborate to apply for their part of the £16.5 million in funds allocated for sustainable farming projects.
As part of the UK government's £270 million Farming Innovation Programme, the projects will help drive innovation in agriculture and horticulture.
The programme helps farmers and growers with new ideas to increase food production, make farming more sustainable, and boost productivity.
On Wednesday, August 31, people can start applying for the two new funding competitions, which are being run with the help of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
A funding competition for feasibility projects worth £5.5 million will give grants for projects worth between £200,000 and £500,000 to help research and development (R&D) through the difficult testing phase of an idea to see if it's worth investing in further.
In the Small R&D Partnership competition, industrial research projects that cost between £1m and £3m can get a share of £11m in grant funding.
These larger projects will further develop novel solutions to important on-farm or immediate post-farmgate concerns or opportunities, such as increasing 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.”
Source: Farmers Weekly
