---
title: "FCP: Rural Payments Service Continuity Project"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-048671"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-048671"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048671.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048671.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2025-03-17"
---

# FCP: Rural Payments Service Continuity Project

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-048671

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) initiated a procurement process to secure an agreement for the Rural Payments Service Continuity Project, which aims to support, maintain, and develop the existing ABACO Agri application for up to three years. This is part of the Farming Countryside Programme (FCP), a significant initiative that will eventually migrate to a new digital solution. The procurement falls under the industry category of IT services; consulting, software development, Internet, and support, and it targets services that sustain thriving rural communities and environments within the UK. The procurement method is an open procedure, with a tender process active since 31st July 2024. Interested parties must submit bids electronically by 30th August 2024, with a contract period spanning from 1st February 2025 to 31st January 2028.

This tender presents considerable business growth opportunities for companies specialising in IT services, particularly those experienced in digital agriculture and rural payments systems. Firms with strong technical acumen, sustainable practices, and competitive commercial offerings stand to benefit. The contract value is £27,000,000, and businesses can leverage their capabilities to support Defra’s digital strategy while contributing to the improvement of rural economies and environmental protection. The successful contractor, ABACO(UK) LIMITED, demonstrates the lucrative nature of such tenders, highlighting the potential for businesses committed to excellence in service delivery and innovation within the environmental and agricultural technology sectors.

## Notice

Defra is responsible for responsible for improving and protecting the environment. We aim to grow a green economy and sustain thriving rural communities. We also support our world-leading food, farming and fishing industries. For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. We pay out over PS2 billion each year to support a thriving farming and food sector, supporting agricultural and rural communities to create a better place to live. The Rural Payments service (RPS) is Defra's online registration system for farmers, animal keepers and rural traders and businesses.

At its core is the payments policy and rules engine application ABACO Agri (previously known as SITI Agri). This has been developed over a number of years and delivers > 80% of the large, complex, reoccurring land-based grants/schemes offered by Defra such as Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Countryside Stewardship (CS), Combined Offer (CO), Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) among others for more than 90,000 farmers.

As part of Defra's digital strategy this application will be replaced with a new solution/service as part of the Farming Countryside Programme (FCP) that is also delivering major policy changes over the next few years.

To provide sufficient time to implement, transition and migrate to a new solution/service, the Authority requires a contract for the support, maintenance and development of schemes/grants on Defra's existing deployment of ABACO Agri for up to 3 years.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Defra is responsible for responsible for improving and protecting the environment. We aim to grow a green economy and sustain thriving rural communities. We also support our world-leading food, farming and fishing industries. For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. We pay out over PS2 billion each year to support a thriving farming and food sector, supporting agricultural and rural communities to create a better place to live. The Rural Payments service (RPS) is Defra's online registration system for farmers, animal keepers and rural traders and businesses.

At its core is the payments policy and rules engine application ABACO Agri (previously known as SITI Agri). This has been developed over a number of years and delivers > 80% of the large, complex, reoccurring land-based grants/schemes offered by Defra such as Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Countryside Stewardship (CS), Combined Offer (CO), Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) among others for more than 90,000 farmers.

As part of Defra's digital strategy this application will be replaced with a new solution/service as part of the Farming Countryside Programme (FCP) that is also delivering major policy changes over the next few years.

To provide sufficient time to implement, transition and migrate to a new solution/service, the Authority requires a contract for the support, maintenance and development of schemes/grants on Defra's existing deployment of ABACO Agri for up to 3 years.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009603-2025 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Mar 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 30 Aug 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 31 Oct 2024 |
| Contract period | 1 Feb 2025 - 31 Jan 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £27,000,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £27,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Additional buyers | DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL) |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ABACO(UK |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

## Release History

- 17 Mar 2025 at 11:25 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009603-2025
- 31 Jul 2024 at 15:01 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024005-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.abacogroupuk.com
- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-048671. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048671.json.