Farming Innovation Programme: Small R&D Partnership Projects Round 5
Forecasted
Farming Innovation Programme: Small R&D Partnership Projects Round 5 supports business-led teams developing farming innovations to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience in England.
This grant was recently updated
The interview period has been extended from 4–9 December 2026 to 4–11 December 2026.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates (Anticipated): October 2027 (Competition closing)
Funding Amounts: Up to £13 million total; £1 million–£3 million in eligible project costs; up to 30 months
Summary: Supports business-led collaborative industrial research delivering farming innovations that benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England.
Key Information: Consortia must include a UK-registered SME claiming funding, with the lead and another organisation requesting grants.
Description
This competition supports small collaborative research and development projects through Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. Funding comes from the industry-led R&D Partnerships Fund. Projects develop agricultural solutions that improve productivity, sustainability and resilience, reduce farming’s environmental impact, and advance existing agricultural sectors towards net zero.
The programme encourages collaboration between businesses, end users and the UK research community to address significant industry challenges. Solutions must deliver practical benefits for farmers, growers or foresters in England in commercially relevant settings. Farmers, growers or foresters must be involved throughout development, with knowledge exchange supporting adoption across the wider sector. Eligible industrial research addresses farmed animals, plants, novel food production systems, or the bioeconomy and agroforestry.
