Grant opportunity
Defra Farming Innovation Investor Partnership 2026
Defra and Innovate UK competition for agri-food businesses developing late-stage research and development projects that can attract private investment and improve farming productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
- Funder
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) / Innovate UK
- Deadline
- Sep 10, 2026
- Award
- Project grants from GBP 400,000 to GBP 1.5 million; total competition fund up to GBP 5 million
- Applicant
- Businesses & research partners
- Discipline
- Agriculture, Food & Rural Development
- Region
- United Kingdom
- Posted
- May 19, 2026
Call summary
Overview
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.
Who can apply
- 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.
What it supports
- 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.
Funding and duration
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
How to apply
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.
Call details
About the opportunity
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.
This listing is written for researchers, students, universities, NGOs, research teams, policy professionals and academic institutions searching for Agriculture, Food & Rural Development grants, fellowships, scholarships, conferences, workshops and funding opportunities in United Kingdom contexts.
Eligibility
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.
Funding and benefits
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.
Themes and supported activities
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.
Deadline and timeline
Application deadline: Sep 10, 2026.
Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.
How to apply
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 applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.