Key Takeaways
- The UK's Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) will receive an additional £53 million in funding in 2026/27, bringing total investment for the financial year to £123 million.
- The additional funding builds on the £70 million announced at the NFU Conference in February and forms part of a government commitment to invest at least £200 million in agricultural innovation by 2030.
- FIP supports innovation from early R&D through to on-farm trials and commercial deployment, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
- Eight competitive funding rounds are open or scheduled across 2026, covering on-farm ADOPT grants (£50,000–£200,000), feasibility studies (£200,000–£500,000), small R&D projects (£1–£3 million), and robotics and automation funding.
- Active FIP-funded projects include SlurryBugs (microbial slurry nutrient retention), robotic strip cropping trials with Harper Adams University, and FA Bio's ENRICH nitrogen-use project in wheat.
UK Farming Innovation Programme Receives Additional £53 Million
The UK government has announced an additional £53 million investment in the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) for the 2026/27 financial year, bringing total FIP investment for the year to £123 million. The uplift follows the £70 million announced at the NFU Conference in February and forms part of a broader Industrial Strategy commitment to invest at least £200 million in agricultural innovation by 2030.
Delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, FIP supports farmers, growers, and agri-businesses in developing and deploying new technologies and practices across the full innovation cycle — from early research and feasibility testing through to on-farm trials and commercial rollout.
Funding Rounds Open Across 2026
Eight FIP competitions are open or scheduled to open during 2026, spanning several distinct funding streams. The ADOPT Full Grant (rounds 8, 9, and 10) offers between £50,000 and £200,000 for on-farm innovation projects lasting up to two years, with the current Round 8 closing 29 July. ADOPT Facilitator Support Grants of £2,500 are available to help applicants prepare full submissions. Feasibility Studies (Round 5, opening 15 July) offer £200,000 to £500,000 to test whether innovations work in practice over up to two years. The Small R&D round (opening 1 September) provides £1 million to £3 million for collaborative projects creating new products or services over up to three years.
Two themed Farming Futures competitions are also scheduled: one on Automation and Robotics (opening 3 August) and one on Soils and Water Quality (Winter 2026), the latter targeting technologies that improve soil quality, water management, farm profitability, and pressure on natural resources.
Projects Already Delivering on the Ground
Several FIP-funded projects illustrate the range of innovation the programme is supporting. Lancashire-based EnviroSystems UK, working with Myerscough College, developed SlurryBugs — two microbial products that improve the nutrient retention of slurry as a fertiliser, reducing ammonia losses and cutting reliance on synthetic inputs. In the East Midlands, Harper Adams University is trialling a gantry robot system that grows one-metre-wide strips of mixed cereals, legumes, and companion crops as an alternative to large-scale monoculture, with results being monitored for yield, crop health, and biodiversity impact.
In the East of England, FA Bio's ENRICH project is identifying and scaling beneficial bacterial strains that help wheat plants access nitrogen more efficiently, with field and glasshouse trials now in their second season. If successful, the technology could reduce synthetic fertiliser use while maintaining yields — lowering input costs and improving resilience to fertiliser price volatility.
