The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is granting £14m in its latest funding as part of the Farming Innovation Programme which aims to boost sustainability and progress to net-zero in agriculture and horticulture.

The funding will be shared between two new research and feasibility competitions, and since opening in October 2021, 16 competitions have launched under the £270m programme.

Previous rounds have led to investment in automations to improve soft fruit yield; a ‘herd’ of lightweight, battery-operated, asparagus-harvesting robots; and the use of ultraviolet as a disinfectant in the dairy and poultry sectors.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: “These competitions are all about encouraging collaborations between farmers and growers on the one hand, and research organisations and industry on the other, to help bring ideas from the planning stage into practice.”

The importance of innovation in the food and farming sectors was highlighted at the recent Farm to Fork Summit where the government announced a package of support for the farming sector, including new measures to ensure the sector remains at the forefront of adopting new technologies and techniques.

This included the On-Farm Environmental Resilience competition, which will see up to £12.5m awarded to projects driving the development of new technology and innovative farming methods, with a focus on practical solutions to make a real difference on farms. The competition closed at the end of last month and projects will be notified of the outcome of their applications in the autumn.

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