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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support innovation in the agricultural sector.

The Farming Innovation Programme is supporting research and innovation in the agricultural sector to help English farmers and growers increase productivity, sustainability and resilience.

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June, recognises Agri-Tech as a key growth sector and at least £200 million is allocated to the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2030. This will offer targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture, supporting critical investment into the UK Agri-Tech innovation pipeline helping further the commercialisation of Agri-Tech.