Today, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced new opportunities to apply for productivity grants in 2025.
Grants will be offered through:
- The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
- The Farming Innovation Programme
- Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund
In this post, we’ll give an overview.
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF)
FETF offers grants for equipment, technology and small infrastructure to boost productivity, improve slurry management and enhance animal health and welfare.
Over the past 3 rounds of FETF, farmers, growers, foresters and other contractors in England have received over £107 million to buy new equipment and technology.
This spring, we will launch one round of FETF. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 will be available.
In total, £30 million will be available for productivity and slurry and £16.7 million will be available for animal health and welfare.
We’ll blog again and let you know when the guidance for this round is available on GOV.UK and when you can apply.
The Farming Innovation Programme (FIP)
Through FIP, funding is available to farmers, growers and foresters who want to develop and use new, innovative methods and technologies.
You'll be able to apply for grants through the following competitions:
- A thematic competition that builds on the opportunities unlocked by the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023, with up to £12.5 million available to fund research to deliver the practical benefits of precision breeding technology to farmers. For example, enhanced disease resistance or reducing the need for nutrients or pesticides.
- A thematic competition focused on Net Zero farming with up to £12.5 million across projects to fund research focusing on technologies and practices to help transition the sector towards Net Zero.
- Further Industry-led competitions with up to £17.6 million across projects. These will range from early-stage feasibility to those at a later stage in the R&D pipeline towards commercialisation.
We’ll blog again and let you know when the guidance for these competitions is available on the Farming Innovation Programme website and when you can apply.
Through FIP, we’ve invested £51.8 million to date, with an additional £98 million committed to ongoing projects advancing agri-technology research.
This funding has supported innovative trials, such as the use of semi-transparent solar panels in glasshouses and polytunnels. This allows sunlight to reach plants, enhancing growth and generates clean energy, contributing to sustainable farming practices.
In addition, the funding has enabled research into the use of daffodil extract in cattle feed. This natural additive could help reduce methane emissions from cows, which would represent a significant step toward lowering methane emissions and the environmental impact of livestock farming.
If you'd like to read some case studies, visit the Farming Innovation Programme.
Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT)
ADOPT provides collaborative farmer-led, innovation grants, for farmers and farm businesses to trial new technology and methods on their farm.
These practical research projects will help to prove innovative ways of boosting farm productivity, food security and nature’s recovery across England.
It will open for applications in spring 2025 and grants will be available to fund projects of between £50,000 to £100,000 in size.
To ensure farmers and growers can access ADOPT and the evidence generated effectively, we have established a bespoke Support Hub to support farmers in their application and encourage collaboration.
The hub will be led by RSK ADAS with support from the UK Agri Tech Centre and Soil Association.
Through the FIP and ADOPT competitions, we are making up to £63 million available starting in the 2025/26 financial year.
We encourage farmers, foresters, growers, research organisations and others in the industry to consider these opportunities.
We’ll post again and let you know when the guidance is available on the Innovation Funding Service website.
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