Healthy Soils and Water for a Sustainable Environment

Overview

This competition is part of Defra's Farming Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK. It shares up to £28 million between collaborative projects that tackle soil, water and environmental management in farming and growing in England. Projects must be collaborative and business-led. Your project must have total costs between £1 million and £5 million, and up to 70% of costs can be covered, depending on business size. Projects can last up to 36 months. They must start by 1 August 2027 and end by 31 July 2030. You can focus on one or more of four scope areas: soil, water and land resource management; fertilisers, nutrient management, circular bioeconomy and pollution reduction; climate resilience and natural resource adaptation; and crosscutting decision support tools. Projects that cover several areas and take a whole farm, systems based approach are particularly encouraged. Your solution must show how it will benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England. The competition is not open yet. Applications open on 19 November 2026 and close on 28 January 2027 at 11:00am. One practical point to plan for: an organisation can lead only one application, and no single organisation can claim more than 70% of the total project costs. Defra has released a pre-recorded briefing, and Innovate UK Business Connect's Agrifood team can help you find a project partner. Official source: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/healthy-soils-and-water-for-a-sustainable-environment/. Last checked by GrantMatch on 28 October 2026.