Improving Farm Productivity grant round two – online checker closes 21 March 2024

Round two of the Improving Farm Productivity grant opened at the end of January. This is part of the package of £45m of grant schemes which we blogged about in December 2023.

Overview of the Improving Farm Productivity grant

The second round of the Improving Farm Productivity grant provides grants towards large capital items to help farmers and horticulturists improve farm and horticulture productivity through:

the use of robotic or automatic equipment and systems to aid crop and livestock production
wavelength specific LED lighting for horticultural crops
advanced ventilation control units
solar photovoltaic (PV) systems

More details of the Improving Farm Productivity grant

Extracts of the details contained within the guidance are outlined below:

Priority projects	The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will prioritise funding for projects that: · improve productivity · improve the environment · introduce innovation · introduce technology to address labour shortage (farm productivity projects)
Eligibility	You can apply for a grant if you’re a farmer or horticulturalist in England. Contractors can also apply if they have a registered business address in England.
Project types	For capital items for a project to help you to improve farm productivity through: · improving efficiency and effectiveness of primary agricultural or horticultural production · reducing your farm’s environmental impact resulting in a positive contribution to net zero and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction · introducing technical innovation to optimise livestock production and field operations · using automation in areas where access to labour is an issue
Grant size – Farming productivity	The minimum grant you can apply for is £25,000 (50% of £50,000). The maximum grant is £500,000 per applicant business
Grant size – Solar PV	The minimum grant you can apply for is £15,000 (25% of £60,000). The maximum grant is £100,000 per applicant business
Solar and PV	To apply for both a Solar grant and a Farm Productivity grant, you must submit two separate applications. The maximum grant across all submitted applications is £500,000 in total, per applicant business
Match funding	You cannot use other public money, such as grant funding from local authorities, towards the project costs.
Eligible costs	There is a section in the guidance which gives further information on eligible costs including defining ‘robotic’ and ‘automatic’

There are contact details for questions on eligibility etc, including:

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0300 0200 301 and follow options for the Farming Transformation Fund.

Application process

It is a two stage application process:

Stage 1 – Online eligibility checker. The online checker closes at 11:59pm on 21 March 2024.
Stage 2 – If you’re eligible and your project scores highly enough against the funding priorities, we’ll send you an application form and project number to make a full application.

More guidance on the application process can be found here. This includes information required and an overview of the scoring system..

Get in touch

If you would like to talk through any aspects of a project, including match funding, then please get in touch with our rural team or your usual point of contact at PKF Francis Clark.