Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what incentives are available for farmers to invest in innovative irrigation systems that enhance water efficiency in controlled environment agriculture.

We are committed to supporting all farming sectors to increase levels of productivity whilst increasing their sustainability and resilience. We are looking carefully at how to position further investment and support to enable the delivery of this Government's objectives, including on water management. We plan to simplify and rationalise our grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.

The forthcoming round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, to launch in Spring 2025, will support the uptake of innovative technology and equipment that is commercially available. The scheme has historically offered grants for water management equipment and will be open to farmers across England. The full list of eligible equipment will be published within the scheme guidance ahead of the scheme launch.

We will confirm any further future grant rounds in due course following the forthcoming Spending Review.