PRIMARY SECTOR FUNDS
PRIMARY SECTOR FUNDING AND GRANTS
Sustainable Farming Fund
The Sustainable Farming Fund has been replaced by Sustainable Food & Fibre (SFF) Futures.
Callaghan Innovation R&D Funding
Callaghan Innovation have research and development grants available to the agriculture and primary sectors. To be eligible for Callaghan Innovation R&D funding the business must be registered under the Companies Act 1993, or a Limited Partnership under the Limited Partnership Act 2008.
Visit Callaghan Innovation's Agritech Support Explorer for finding funding, capability support and advisory services for the primary sector..
Fresh Water Improvement Fund
The Ministry for the Environment operates the Fresh Water Improvement Fund. They advise "The Government has committed $100 million over 10 years through the Freshwater Improvement Fund to support initiatives which improve the management of fresh water within quality and quantity limits. This means improving the way we share and use water as well as taking care with what we allow to flow into our water bodies. The fund focuses on projects that will make a significant and measurable improvement to rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater and wetlands, with priority on the most vulnerable catchments. The fund is able to support projects at different scales and over varying timeframes. This could include one-off short-term projects up to one year as well as longer-term projects taking up to five years".
Agmardt
The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (Agmardt) is a not-for-profit trust that supports leadership, innovation and research capability within the New Zealand agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. Agmardt advise they provide funding through different schemes for the following activities:
- International market development
- Industry sector and business support for the development and implementation of innovative agribusiness solutions
- Leadership and governance development
- Support to bring key international experts and speakers in the industry to New Zealand
- Postdoctoral fellowship support for Universities and Crown Research Institutes
- Technology transfer assistance, including the establishment of industry forums
The Primary Growth Partnership
The Primary Growth Partnership has been replaced by Sustainable Food & Fibre (SFF) Futures.
Seafood Innovations
Seafood Innovations is “a joint venture research consortium company by Seafood New Zealand Limited and The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited to promote the carrying out of research relating to the seafood industry in New Zealand. The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment is a cornerstone investor in the company on behalf of the New Zealand Government. Seafood Innovations Ltd aims to underpin growth of the seafood export industry by increasing returns from the current seafood harvest through developing and commercialising innovative, consumer appealing, value added seafood and marine products.”
Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures
The Ministry of Primary Industries have announced that the Primary Growth Partnership and Sustainable Farming Fund have closed. A new Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund has been created. MPI advise “Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) funds innovative projects that will create more value from the food and fibre industries. Projects could be about developing new products or services, or ideas for creating new jobs, increasing skills and capability, or encouraging better collaboration and information sharing. They can range from small, one-off initiatives requiring a small grant, to long-running, multi-million-dollar partnerships.
SFF Futures supports projects from all over New Zealand, created by businesses, non-government organisations, researchers, training institutions, Māori landowners, community groups, and industry bodies. Applications are expected to prioritise value over volume.
How much funding is available?
Depending on the length and complexity of your project, we can provide funding in several ways. For example, if you are working on a short-term, one-off project, a small grant may be enough to cover your costs. With larger, longer-term projects, we could provide ongoing funding”.
SFF Futures supports projects from all over New Zealand, created by businesses, non-government organisations, researchers, training institutions, Māori landowners, community groups, and industry bodies. Applications are expected to prioritise value over volume.
How much funding is available?
Depending on the length and complexity of your project, we can provide funding in several ways. For example, if you are working on a short-term, one-off project, a small grant may be enough to cover your costs. With larger, longer-term projects, we could provide ongoing funding”.
Wool Industry Research (WIRL)
Wool Industry Research Limited (WIRL) fund both Industry Good and Company Specific research. Industry Good investments will normally be pursued through a Request for Proposals process conducted with both New Zealand based, and international research providers well in advance of the investment period. It is expected that a new RFP round will be advertised and this date is yet to be confirmed for 2013. Companies with an interest in NZ wool are welcome to apply to WIRL for funding to support a "Company Specific" research application at any time. The WIRL Board prefer to support commercially driven proposals that will add value to, and diversify the NZ wool industry.
DairyNZ Incorporated: On Farm Innovation Fund
DairyNZ looks to invest a portion of levy funds into developing innovation to provide benefit to all dairy farmers. Dairy NZ advise “Expressions of Interest are accepted at any time and the review process takes about eight weeks. Applications need to clearly show what the innovation is, the expected impact on-farm, what outcomes will be met, alignment with industry needs and delivery to the next stage”. Projects will generally be funded up to $50,000 over a 12 month period.
NZ Winegrowers Research
The New Zealand Winegrowers research programme works with a range of research partners to “generate rigorous, factually-based understanding of the many factors contributing to the economic production of high quality grapes and wine”. New Zealand Winegrowers can accept proposals anytime throughout the year. New Zealand Winegrowers runs a “two step proposal process where an applicant can fill out a relatively short EoI template that gives enough information for the committee to evaluate whether it is worth proceeding to a full proposal that ultimately would become the contract between the applicant and New Zealand Winegrowers”.
Business Grant - Getting Started
For 25 years we have successfully planned and managed business grant applications for organisations across a wide range of industry types and industry sectors. To help you get started on your grant application click on the link below, complete and send the form.
This page was last updated on 19 June 2023
