Defra Farming Innovation Investor Partnership 2026

Defra and Innovate UK are supporting ambitious agri-food innovation projects that combine grant funding with private investment and move farming innovations toward commercial use.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) / Innovate UK lists this opportunity for Businesses & research partners, Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, United Kingdom. Applicants should use the official call page to confirm final requirements before submitting.

The competition is aimed at UK-registered businesses and eligible project partners working on farming, agri-food, or agricultural technology innovation.

Projects should meet the official scope and investor-partnership requirements set out by Innovate UK and Defra.

Late-stage research and development for technologies, products, or services that improve productivity, sustainability, resilience, or environmental outcomes in farming.

Projects should be capable of attracting private investment and delivering practical benefits for the agricultural sector.

Grant requests are expected to be between GBP 400,000 and GBP 1.5 million. The official competition page lists a total fund of up to GBP 5 million.

Application deadline: Sep 10, 2026.

Confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, and submission route on the official call page.

Plan internal approvals, partner confirmations, budgets, letters, and portal submission before the final deadline.

Use the official UKRI/Innovate UK competition page and apply through the Innovate UK application route by 10 September 2026 at 11:00 am UK time.

Before submitting, check required documents, eligible costs, attachments, page limits, institutional approvals, and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration, or nomination stage.