How to apply for new government funding for farming innovation
Discover how your farming business can benefit from the newly announced government initiative – the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT)
Three new government funded initiatives, worth a combined £45.6m, were announced this week. Each focuses on bringing cutting edge technologies to farms and improving productivity.
This funding comes under the Farming Innovation Programme, which is allocated a portion of the agriculture budget in England to fund research and development. The scheme has existed for several years but so far has been of relatively niche interest to farmers on the ground.
This perception should change with the announcement of the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT), which aims to increase the long-term uptake of innovative technology on farm.
The scheme opens on 28 April and closes on 25 June and aims to support farmers looking to test new technologies on their own farms. The government has committed “up to £20.6m” over the 25/26 financial year, with this initial round allocated £2m. A project must focus on one or more of the following – productivity, resilience and progression towards net zero farming – and project costs must be between £50,000 and £100,000.
How to apply for ADOPT funding
To encourage farmer participation, a support hub has been established as well as a £2,500 grant to engage a project facilitator to help farmers submit applications.
The CLA encourages members to investigate the ADOPT scheme, especially if they are interested in trialling innovative farm technologies such as robotic harvesting systems or early warning animal health detection technology. The support hub includes past case studies of farmer-led research, which may provide some inspiration. It also includes the ability for farmers to post ideas and connect with others. There is further information in this blog from Defra and a webinar is scheduled at 10am on 30 April if you would like to find out more.
From 5 May, two further Farming Innovation Programme schemes will open which may be applicable to a smaller number of farmers on the ground. The first is a £12.5m scheme to fund research into reducing on-farm emissions, and the second is a £12.5m scheme to explore how precision bred crops can improve yields, be more disease resistance and reduce chemical inputs. These schemes are likely to generate more interest from research institutions, but there are still opportunities for farmers to participate.
Interested members in any of these funds should register for the Defra blogs here, which will publish more information when the scheme is launched.
