Guidance

Farmer Collaboration Fund: agreement holder's guide

Updated 24 August 2026

Applies to England

The Farmer Collaboration Fund (FCF) opens on 1 September 2026.

To get ready to apply, we’ve published the FCF agreement holder’s guide. Based on user feedback, we may make some changes to the guidance. We will let you know what changes we make.

To apply for funding, you must read the FCF applicant’s guide to find out if you’re eligible and how to apply.

19. About your agreement

A Farming Collaboration Fund (FCF) agreement is awarded to the successful delivery partner. You are acting on behalf of the delivery partner as the person who completed the application form.

Your FCF agreement is the legally binding agreement between you and Defra. It includes:

• your Grant Funding Agreement (GFA)
• the FCF scheme guidance (the applicant’s guide and the agreement holder’s guide)

Your agreement will last for up to 3 years.

The GFA includes:

1. Your grant application.
2. Funded activities.
3. Payment schedule.
4. Breakdown of forecasted grant expenditure.
5. Outcomes, milestones and performance measures.
6. Claim form.
7. Contact details.
8. Data protection agreements.
9. Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.

19.1 What you are agreeing to

You are agreeing to use the FCF to support farmer and land manager collaboration to achieve sustainable, nature friendly, productive farming.

19.2 Agreement start and end date

Your agreement will start when you sign your GFA. It will last for up to 3 years.

19.3 How to accept or reject your GFA

You’ll receive your GFA through the Atamis portal. You’ll need to sign the document to accept your agreement. An electronic signature is acceptable.

20. How your agreement is monitored

You’ll be assigned a Defra relationship manager to monitor the progress of your agreement. Your relationship manager will set up an hour-long online meeting with you each month. Defra intends to keep meetings flexible to balance each parties’ needs. They will discuss with you:

• any concerns you have about meeting the terms of your agreement
• any complaints or issues you may have
• what underspend or overspend you are accruing
• if you need to change your plans to meet the terms of your agreement

They may ask you about:  

• how you’ll share knowledge with collaboration groups
• collaboration group members, their priorities and meetings you have
• the facilitators you are using
• what advice sessions you are facilitating

You should share knowledge as routine practice. For example:

• have named learning contacts
• share learning with delivery partners on what does and does not work
• take part in Defra learning networks – Defra will provide support for this, including opportunities to share learning with other delivery partners and guidance on how to take part
• use lessons learned to improve outcomes

You’ll need to report to Defra on delivery and spend. You’ll also need to provide information for their monitoring and evaluation process.

21. How you’ll be paid

Defra will pay you on a quarterly basis, in advance of spend.

22. Reporting activities to support your agreement

You’ll report progress quarterly using a template that Defra will provide. You’ll need to show ongoing activities to support your GFA and get paid.

You’ll need to provide the following information every quarter. Defra will provide a privacy notice which sets out the legal basis for sharing this data.

About collaboration groups:

• names of the groups you are supporting
• group priorities and how they align with Defra priorities
• number of group members
• details of the group members (for example, their names, addresses, gender, age, SBI, address, business type)
• group facilitator’s details

About collaboration meetings:

• date, time and location
• number of attendees
• topics discussed
• which advisers or experts you used
• costs (venue, hospitality, travel and advice)

Details of any other costs:

• one-to-one advice (dates, topics, who was involved)
• facilitator training
• planning activities
• knowledge sharing activities
• other resource costs
• legal costs

You’ll only receive payments for your next quarter of activity after you have submitted your report for the previous quarter.

Defra reserves the right to withhold payments if you do not meet the requirements for reporting and managing your agreement.

22.1 Underspend

Defra will adjust (reconcile) payment after each quarterly report. For example, if you are spending lower than expected payments in Q1, you will receive normal payments in Q2 but will receive reduced payments in Q3 to make sure they match your overall spend.

If you’ve unspent funds at the end of the 3-year agreement, you will need to pay them back to Defra. Defra can claw back the money, if necessary.  

Table 1 shows examples of how reconciliation will work with different amounts of underspend. The FCF project team will make decisions about reconciliation at quarterly finance meetings.

Table 1: Examples of payment adjustments

Amount of underspend	Adjustment required
Up to 10%	Not required until end of year
10% to 25%	Not required where there is clear and convincing evidence this will be resolved within the next quarter
25% to 50%	Reconciliation required
50% and above	Discussion needed about continuation of grant contract

22.2 Overspend

If you overspend your FCF budget, Defra will not reimburse you. Defra could consult with the FCF Project Board to discuss if you may be allocated additional funding. This is not guaranteed.

22.3 Changing plans

If your plans need to change significantly from what you’ve agreed in your GFA, you will discuss this with your Defra relationship manager in your regular meetings and provide written details as part of your reporting requirements. Read ‘Changes to your agreement’ for more information.

23. FCF evaluation process

Defra will appoint a partner to monitor and evaluate the FCF. This will help Defra understand:

• the impact of the scheme
• grant expenditure

Defra will expect you to support the evaluation process by collecting data from farmers, land managers and growers in collaboration groups.    

You’ll be expected to send annual reports to the evaluation partner that includes:

• insights to share with other collaboration groups
• case studies
• lessons learned from unsuccessful activities

You’ll also be asked to take part in qualitative research to share your experience and recommend improvements in the grant processes.

24. Compliance and audit checks

You do not need to submit receipts of costs, but you must keep accurate records for auditing purposes. Defra will carry out random auditing across delivery partners.

You’ll need to provide one audit for the end of your agreement carried out by an independent party – you may use the FCF to pay for this.  

Defra will expect you to keep records of how:

• you selected facilitators and advisers for their roles
• you managed conflicts of interest

You should:

• select individuals based on their skills, knowledge and experience for any intended role
• keep proportionate records of how you made your decisions – this could include an assessment of value for money
• identify where there are gaps in collaboration within your area or sector and opportunities to achieve further objectives

Defra relationship managers will visit at least one collaboration group meeting each year, to check that meetings:

• happen as planned
• include approximately the number of attendees you have claimed will attend
• have productive and collaborative discussions
• claim for appropriate levels of hospitality and travel

Defra should give at least 3 days’ notice before attending these meetings.

25. Changes to your agreement

You should speak to your relationship manager if you would like to make changes to your agreement. This could include ongoing changes to how you will spend funds or how you’ll achieve your aims. It could also include requests for additional funding. Such changes may be subject to processes outlined in the GFA.

You should report any changes of circumstances that affect the delivery partner’s ability to meet the agreement as expected.

Defra will carry out an annual review to make sure you are meeting your agreement as expected. They may end your agreement if you do not pass these annual reviews. You can appeal against any decisions about changes to your agreement or annual reviews.

26. Breaching your agreement

Defra may consider you have breached the terms of your agreement if your performance:

• falls significantly below expected standards
• presents a risk to delivery outcomes or public funds

They will act in accordance with your GFA. Details of what constitutes a breach are listed in the GFA.

27. Contact details

For any questions about the FCF, email: farmercollaborationfund@defra.gov.uk