Defra Announces £53m Boost To Drive Farming Innovation

Defra has announced a further £53 million investment in farming innovation, opening the door for more farmers, growers and agri-businesses to trial new technologies, cut costs and build stronger, more resilient businesses.

The additional funding will go into the Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, and takes total investment in the programme to £123 million for the 2026/27 financial year.

According to Defra, the money will support practical, farmer-led innovation at every stage, from early research and development through to on-farm trials and commercial deployment. The aim is to help the industry turn new ideas into real-world solutions that can improve productivity, reduce input costs and support long-term resilience.

The latest funding builds on the £70 million announced at the NFU Conference in February and forms part of the Government’s wider Industrial Strategy commitment to invest at least £200 million in agricultural innovation by 2030.

A range of funding opportunities will be available to farmers, growers and foresters during 2026, including grants for on-farm innovation trials, feasibility studies, robotics and automation, soil and water quality, and collaborative research and development.

Among the opportunities highlighted by Defra are ADOPT grants, offering between £50,000 and £200,000 for on-farm innovation projects and trials lasting up to two years, as well as feasibility study funding of between £200,000 and £500,000 to test whether new approaches can work in practice.

Larger collaborative research and development projects will also be able to apply for between £1 million and £3 million through the Small R&D competition, which opens in September.

Defra said projects already supported by the Farming Innovation Programme are helping businesses respond to major challenges including climate change, labour shortages, environmental pressure and rising input costs.

Examples include SlurryBugs, a Lancashire-based project led by EnviroSystems UK with Myerscough College, which has developed microbial products designed to help retain more of slurry’s nutrient value and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers.

Another project, involving an East Midlands arable farmer and Harper Adams University, is testing robotic strip cropping. The approach uses a gantry robot and one-metre-wide strips of mixed crops, including cereals, legumes and companion crops, as a possible alternative to conventional large-scale monoculture.

Defra also highlighted the ENRICH project, led by FA Bio, which is exploring beneficial bacteria that could help wheat plants access and use nitrogen more efficiently. The project has already identified promising bacterial strains and is now in its second season of field and glasshouse trials.

For the fresh produce and wider farming sectors, the new investment comes at a critical time. Businesses are under mounting pressure to improve efficiency, reduce costs, address labour constraints and adapt to climate-related risks, while continuing to deliver the high-quality food consumers expect.

Defra said the programme is intended to help farmers, growers and businesses develop and adopt the tools, systems and practices needed to create a more profitable, productive and sustainable agricultural sector.