Farming Innovation Programme – feasibility projects

Fund Details

The aim of this competition is to:

• investigate early-stage solutions that have the potential to substantially improve the overall productivity, sustainability, and resilience of farming, and move existing agricultural sectors to net-zero
• prioritise solutions that will have positive outputs for farmers, growers and foresters in commercially relevant situations
• accelerate research and development of new agricultural solutions by actively engaging collaboration with the wider UK research community in the innovation process

Your project must be able to demonstrate how the project will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England. Your project must address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one of the four industry subsectors below:

• livestock
• plants
• novel food production systems
• bio-economy and agroforestry

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £200,000 and £500,000
• start by 1 May 2022
• end by 30 April 2024
• last up to 24 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in England
• have at least 50% of the farmers, growers or foresters involved based in England

To lead a project, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size and collaborate with other UK organisations. Academic institutions and research organisations cannot lead. Projects will not be funded that are:

• equine-specific​
• wild-caught fisheries
• aquaculture, including algae and seaweed production​
• cellular or acellular production systems, fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi​
• projects that do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England
• 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

Talk to us today if you would like to apply for this opportunity.