Defra Farming Innovation Investor Partnership

Overview

The Defra Farming Innovation Investor Partnership supports ambitious UK SMEs developing late-stage farming innovations that can improve productivity, profitability, sustainability and resilience across the agriculture sector.

Delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with Defra, the competition combines grant funding with aligned private investment from approved investor partners. The programme is designed to help innovative agri-tech businesses accelerate commercialisation and scale solutions that are close to market adoption.

Projects must demonstrate clear benefits for farmers, growers or foresters in England and support the transition towards net zero emissions by 2050.

Successful applicants will receive both Innovate UK grant funding and aligned private investment negotiated with a lead investor from the programme’s investor pool.

Scope

Projects must:

• demonstrate ambition to finalise a late-stage innovation
• show potential for business growth and scaling through successful negotiation of investment from a lead investor associated with the competition
• provide a coherent project plan which integrates into the wider business strategy

Solutions must significantly improve farm-focused:

• productivity
• sustainability and environmental impact
• progression towards net zero emissions
• resilience

Projects must be able to demonstrate how they will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England.

Key themes and topics

Projects must address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one of the following subsectors:

• livestock
• plants
• novel food production systems
• bioeconomy and agroforestry

Projects should support:

• late-stage innovative farming solutions, technologies, systems or approaches
• commercialisation of innovations that are close to market
• improved agricultural productivity and profitability
• sustainability and environmental performance
• resilience across the farming sector
• progress towards net zero emissions by 2050

Projects will not be funded if they:

• are collaborative research and development projects
• are not carried out by a single UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
• are not part of a company growth plan
• cannot demonstrate potential for investment return and growth
• are equine specific
• involve wild caught fisheries
• involve aquaculture for fish production or human consumption
• involve cellular expression of proteins or cultivated meat
• involve cellular or acellular production systems, fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi for human consumption
• are for the production of crops or plants for medicinal or pharmaceutical use
• do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England

Project duration

18 months

Must start on 1 April 2027

Award value

Have total costs between £750,000 and £3 million

Projects must also secure aligned private investment worth at least twice the grant amount requested.

Funding rates

For experimental development projects, which use existing knowledge to shape and refine new or improved products, processes, or services through prototyping, testing and validation, and are nearer to market, applicants can receive funding for eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation

The aligned investment must be at least twice as much as the grant funding.

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be led by a UK-based SME
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK
• Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Subsidy control and state aid rules apply