Farming Futures R&D fund: Automation and Robotics Round 2

Key Features

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £20 million to develop innovative solutions for automation and robotics in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. This funding is from the Farming Futures R&D fund.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £20 million

Opens: 3rd Aug 2026

Closes: 30th Sep 2026

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Grant Overview

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs alongside Innovate UK will invest up to £20 million to support farming innovation projects.

Grant Scope

The aim of this competition is to fund collaborative projects with ambitious solutions for robotics and automation in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

Projects must focus on one of more of the following specific themes:

  • Farmed animals – monogastric, ruminant
  • Plant – including broadacre, horticulture, fruit, orchard, vineyard, protected cropping, controlled environment and vertical farming systems, ornamental plant propagation, forestry for tree nursery and planting operations

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this competition, your project must have total project costs of between £500,000 and £2.5 million. Projects must start by 1st March 2027 and end by 28th February 2030 lasting between 12 and 36 months.

Lead Organisation: To lead a collaborative project, organisations must be UK businesses of any size collaborating at least one other eligible UK organisation.

Project team: To collaborate with the lead, organisations must be a UK based farmer, forester or grower, or a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity, not for profit, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation. Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project.

Non-funded partners: Projects can include organisations that do not claim funding for their work on the project. These costs must be covered by their own resources and can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results outside the UK.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and can be from anywhere in the UK. Overseas subcontractors can be used, but you must state why UK subcontractors could not be used in your application.

Number of applications: Business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications, and if not leading, can collaborate in any number of applications.  Any other eligible organisations can collaborate on any number of applications.

Previous applications: Previously submitted applications can be used in this competition.

Grant Exclusions

The following projects will not be funded:

  • Projects that are equine specific
  • Projects that involve wild caught fisheries or involve aquaculture for fish production or human consumption
  • Projects that involve cellular expression of proteins for human consumption or cultivated meat
  • Projects that involve acellular production systems, fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi for human consumption
  • Projects for the production of crops or plants for medicinal or pharmaceutical use
  • Projects that do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England
  • Projects that are relevant to non-food or ornamental plants only
  • Projects that involve forestry harvesting operations and associated heavy equipment or involves food processing and manufacturing
  • Projects that are primarily to develop another product or technology that have automation only to support key products or technology

Grant Funding

Innovate UK in partnership with Defra have invested up to £20 million to fund innovation projects. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

If your project has farmers, growers or foresters requesting grant funding, a minimum of 50% of the total grant amount requested by those organisations, must come from farmers, growers or foresters geographically based in England.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

For feasibility studies you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 30% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are an academic institution

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

  1. Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method as the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.
  2. We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed.

For further information on this competition, please see full details.

Full competition details

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.