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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding schemes for agricultural innovation are available to (a) farmers and (b) agri-tech researchers in Northern Ireland; and what plans his Department has to support the development of (i) automation and (ii) precision farming in the UK.

Agriculture is a devolved issue, and so it is for the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to determine the best way to allocate funding to support farmers in their nations.

In England, the Farming Innovation Programme has been Defra’s flagship programme for supporting research and innovation in farming to help English farmers and growers increase productivity, sustainability and resilience.

We do however recognise the expertise across our shared borders, so Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish companies and research organisations have also been able to collaborate in Programme projects to increase productivity and environmental sustainability. This will help farmers throughout the UK to take advantage from any spill-over benefits from the Programme. The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, launched on 23rd June, recognises Agri-Tech as a key growth sector and at least £200 million is allocated to the Programme up to 2030. This will offer targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture and further industry-led competitions will launch later this year. Automation and precision farming are just some of the technologies supported by the Programme.