Farming projects aimed at cutting impact to get share of £21.5m

VITAMIN-RICH tomatoes, climate-ready hemp and beans that help to reduce methane emissions from cows are among the farming projects that will receive a share of £21.5 million in funding, the Government has announced.

- 

The Environment Department (Defra) said the money will back 15 initiatives across England aiming to develop research into tools that farmers can use to reduce planet-heating emissions and boost productivity.

Nearly £1 million will go to “Sunshine Tomato’, a project that uses precision breeding to create a tomato enriched with provitamin D3.

Another initiative aimed at replacing 50% of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers with greener alternatives, with the hopes of cutting nitrous oxide emissions and improving soil health, will receive nearly £1 million.

Work to develop climate-resilient industrial hemp that is better able to cope with changing conditions will also receive nearly £1 million.