Farming Innovation Programme: Small R&D Partnership Projects Round 4

Farming Innovation Programme Small R&D Partnerships Round 4 | Defra and Innovate UK Grants

Programme:Defra

Awards:£1m-£3m

Geographical Scope:national

Beneficiaries:private

Key Features:Defra and Innovate UK are investing £7.8 million to back collaborative agricultural R&D.

Key facts

Total fund: up to £7.8 million
Project size: £1 million to £3 million total eligible costs
Funding type: grant for industrial research
Duration: up to 30 months
Opens: 15 September 2025
Closes: 5 November 2025, 11:00 am UK time
Collaboration: UK registered business lead, at least one SME partner, UK based delivery and exploitation in England

Scope

Projects must deliver clear benefits for farmers, growers or foresters in England. Eligible focus areas include:

Farmed animals, health, welfare and productivity
Plants and crop production
Novel food production systems
Bioeconomy and agroforestry

Successful bids connect technical innovation to operational change on farm, for example measurable yield or resource efficiency gains, cost curves for adoption, and credible knowledge exchange plans with end users.

Funding and Costs

Total eligible project costs between £1 million and £3 million.
Indicative intervention rates: up to 70% for small businesses, up to 60% for medium, up to 50% for large.
Research organisations can claim up to 30% of total eligible project costs.

Strong financial narratives link budget lines to adoption outcomes, for example on farm trials, validation, training, and scale up plans.

How to Apply

Apply via the Innovation Funding Service. Build a crisp case that:

specifies the end user problem and why existing options fail,
sets measurable outcomes that matter to farmers and buyers,
shows a realistic trial design and data plan,
demonstrates a route to market, including partners, regulatory steps and pricing,
balances technical and commercial milestones.

FI Group helps you evidence the gap, align partners and shape a bid that speaks to both assessors and buyers.

Why Apply

This call funds the critical work between promising prototypes and routine use on farm. It enables robust trials, farmer engagement and knowledge exchange that accelerate adoption, reduce risk for first movers and position your consortium for investment and scale.

Overview

The competition targets ambitious projects that remove bottlenecks to adoption on farms. The strongest proposals quantify the on farm problem, show why current practice cannot solve it at scale, and evidence a practical route from trial to everyday use. Funding is aimed at late stage research that validates performance, reduces risk for end users and creates conditions for market uptake.

Eligibility

Lead must be a UK registered business.
Collaboration is mandatory, including at least one grant claiming SME.
Other partners can include research organisations, universities, charities, RTOs or public bodies.
Work must be carried out in the UK, with results exploited in England.
Projects start by 1 July 2026 and end by 31 December 2028.

Deadlines and Dates

Opens 15 September 2025
Closes 5 November 2025 at 11:00 am UK time
Interview window 10 to 20 February 2026
Applicants notified 11 March 2026
Projects start from 1 July 2026

Assessment

Assessors consider the size of the problem, novelty and feasibility, team capability, value for money, environmental and economic impacts, and the credibility of the adoption pathway. Clear beneficiary statements from farmers or supply chain buyers strengthen bids.

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Our Service Offering in Grants

FI Group will help define the problem statement, structure a consortium with the right mix of delivery and adoption partners, build a compelling financial case and prepare interview ready materials.
Talk to FI Group today to shape a competitive Round 4 application.

Our services include:

Grant scouting and strategy: identifying the right UK and EU funding opportunities for your project pipeline
Bid writing: crafting compelling, compliant applications with strong technical and commercial narratives
Grant management: supporting delivery, reporting, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle
Innovation loans: helping secure and manage Innovate UK loans for late-stage development and market readiness
International support: leveraging our global network to access cross-border innovation funding opportunities

Book An Introductory Meeting

Our Service Offering in Grants

Our services include:

Grant scouting and strategy: identifying the right UK and EU funding opportunities for your project pipeline
Bid writing: crafting compelling, compliant applications with strong technical and commercial narratives
Grant management: supporting delivery, reporting, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle
Innovation loans: helping secure and manage Innovate UK loans for late-stage development and market readiness
International support: leveraging our global network to access cross-border innovation funding opportunities

Book An Introductory Meeting

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