Groups of farmers will be offered support to work together to store water and protect against the impact of drought through a new fund launched by the government today (Monday 22 April).

The £1.6 million fund will be used by farmers to investigate different methods to manage water in their area. Projects could include multi-farm reservoirs, treated waste-water recycling systems, water trading and sharing schemes.

The fund will support around 20 studies and will also investigate water demand and availability in the most water-stressed agricultural areas over the next 25-year period.

It delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment at last year’s Farm to Fork Summit to support farmers to identify local water resource schemes which will help to build resilience into the water supply, support food production and safeguard food security.

Applications open today (22 April) with groups of two or more neighbouring farms eligible to apply. The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 16 June.