The Farmers' Fund has granted English Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP) £133,544 to undertake the 'Foundations for Growth' project.
The grant will provide privately sourced funds necessary for EFFP to secure a grant from Defra's Agricultural Development Scheme for the roll out of its initial work programme of collaborative projects this autumn.
The role of the project is to develop an effective strategy and action plan to encourage co-operation, joint ventures and partnerships between farmers and the rest of the food chain.
The Fund, which was originally set up by Asda, Marks & Spencer, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose in 2001 in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis, has made EFFP the 33rd project to benefit from the £2.1 million fund.
Jan Shawe, chairman of the Farmers' Fund, said: ' In every case we see the potential to use the funds donated by retailers to make a difference where it counts. The trustees are delighted to be supporting this initiative which will help identify ways of improving collaboration within the UK farming sector.'