£20m fillip for rural businesses and farms

Agriculture Correspondent

THOUSANDS of farmers and rural businesses are to benefit from £20m worth of Government grants designed to bolster the countryside.

The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme approved by Defra will see farmers, foresters and horticulturists able to apply for grants of up to £25,000 to invest in green projects and new machinery so their businesses can grow.

Farming Minister Jim Paice said that the scheme was designed to help farms and firms carry out work such as saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers through better use of manures, saving and recycling water and promoting woodland management by processing timber more efficiently.

Projects which improve animal health and welfare will also be able to apply.

Mr Paice said: “Great news will hit the doormats of about a thousand rural businesses and farms over the next few weeks as we enable them to take new opportunities to boost their profits.

“Grants of thousands of pounds will allow businesses to adopt greener and more efficient ways of working that will protect and improve the environment as well as grow the rural economy.”

Over the coming weeks successful applicants from the first round of the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme will receive letters to notify them of their success. Following this a further stream of funding will be available through a second round for applications opening in May.

Grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 will cover 40 per cent of the total cost of projects, with up to 50 per cent funding available for projects in upland areas like the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. This scheme is part of Defra’s £100m package of investments announced in the Rural Economy Growth Review in November 2011.