Grow More Growers

The UBI Bath Beacon is the research partner for Grow More Growers (GmG), a pilot project running until March 2029 across Buckinghamshire and East Oxfordshire. The project addresses the primary barriers facing new agroecological farmers in the UK: a severe lack of affordable land and the financial risk of starting a land-based enterprise. To test a solution, the pilot matches four landholders with four new-entrant growers, providing them with secure access to up to three acres of land, shared infrastructure, and agricultural training.

To handle the financial risk during the setup phase, the pilot covers land costs and provides growers with a basic income of £1,000 per month for three years, alongside a £5,000 start-up grant for equipment. UBI Bath is working with the Real Farming Trust, Bucksum, Basic Income for Farmers, the Autonomy Institute, and wyrd futures to monitor the trial. The research will evaluate how combining land access with income security affects the viability of local food economies, providing empirical data to inform future agricultural policy.