Grants available for farm reservoirs and irrigation equipment

Grants of up to £500,000 are available for arable and horticultural businesses in England to help pay for the construction of a farm reservoir or the purchase of efficient irrigation systems.

The second round of the Water Management Grant – part of the Farming Transformation Fund – has recently opened, with applicants invited to check their eligibility for the funding.

The deadline for the eligibility checker round is the 12 July 2023 and if you’re invited to submit a full application you have until the 31 October 2024 to do so.

Since round 1 of the Water Management Grant, the Rural Payments Agency has made a few changes to the application process, including a longer full application window to allow for applicants to securing planning permission and abstraction licences.

The RPA has said that 90% of the farmers who applied for round 1 were successful.

There is £10 million of funding available so all businesses that are considering building on farm reservoirs, adopting best practice irrigation techniques and irrigation infrastructure are encouraged to apply.

The minimum grant available is £35,000.

Water Management Grant funding priorities.

To maximise the chances of being awarded funding, applicants should look at how their projects fit in with the main grant priorities: ·

• Improve productivity
• Improve water sustainability
• Improve the environment

Application process for Water Management Grant.

This is a two-stage process.

The eligibility checker for the grant opened on the 19 April 2023 and will close on the 12 July 2023. Applicants will need to provide a brief overview of the project they require funding for and will be given a score based on how the proposed application scores against the grants funding priorities.

The RPA will then either invite applicants to submit a full application or inform them that they were not successful.

The deadline for submitting a full application is Thursday 31 October 2024. As part of the full application planning permission and abstraction licences must be in place.

If successful businesses are encouraged to complete their project in 18 months from accepting their agreement.
An automation and robotics theme will be available under the Farming Transformation Fund later in 2023.

If you are interested in this grant and would like further information or help with your application, please contact our farming department.