About the Water Management grant

Detail of what the grant is to be used for

What are the grants for

These grants are for capital items to improve farm productivity through more efficient use of water for irrigation, and to secure water supplies for crop irrigation by the construction of on-farm reservoirs and the adoption of best practice irrigation application equipment. You can find a full list of capital items that are eligible for this scheme in the Eligible costs section.

What the grants are not for

The grants cannot be used to store or distribute mains water or dirty water, or if their primary purpose is to control flooding. You can find a list of costs which are not eligible for this scheme in the Costs which are not eligible.

Priorities for funding

Your project will be scored against the Water Management grant scheme priorities, which are to improve:

  • productivity
  • water sustainability
  • the environment

What we are looking for

We are looking for projects that improve farm productivity through more efficient use of water for irrigation and secure water supplies for crop irrigation. For example:

  • introduce more efficient water application (for example, change from rain gun application to trickle or boom application)
  • secure water supply for crop irrigation that enables water use in a more sustainable way (for example, constructing a reservoir and moving away from summer abstraction to rainwater harvesting or peak flow/winter abstraction)
  • help business resilience and prosperity (for example, using new irrigation systems and newly irrigated areas to increase yield/productivity or introduce high value crops)
  • encourage collaboration for example supplying water to neighbouring farmers