Businesses in rural England will benefit from a £60 million grant scheme announced by environment secretary Caroline Spelman.
The grants could be worth more than £1 million each and are aimed at enabling entrepreneurs in rural areas to take life-changing opportunities to grow their businesses through the rural economy grant scheme, increasing both their competitiveness and profits.
Successful applicants will receive up to 40 per cent of the cost of projects in the five business areas of farm competiveness, agri-food, tourism, forestry, and micro-enterprise support.
Spelman said: “Businesses in rural England can play a significant part in helping to rebuild the nation’s finances. … they have the chance to turn their most ambitious and innovative business plans into a reality - boosting profits, supporting a thriving rural economy and improving the natural environment...It’s part of a £165 million package of initiatives to unlock the economic potential of our rural areas, which have been overlooked for too long.”
Under the scheme firms could get grants to help buy new packhouse equipment, allowing them to target new markets for example.
Growers will also be able to apply for grants to improve soil nutrients and water management. To help rural and farming businesses take up new opportunities in tourism, they can also apply for funding for visitor services and activities.
The initiative will prioritise support for small businesses in rural growth networks and is part of a wider £100 million investment in the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which was announced in the Rural Economy Growth Review last November. DEFRA has already allocated £20 million to the farming and forestry improvement scheme, and the £20 million skills and knowledge transfer network will be open for applications later this year.
NFU vice president Adam Quinney welcomed the announcement. He said: “The scheme is good news for the farming industry. Defra wants the capital grants to support projects that will be a game-changer in transforming farm businesses and we share this ambition of wanting the fund to bring about real change.
"We also welcome the fact that farmers and growers will have the opportunity to demonstrate to DEFRA that their project offers the value for money….The administration of the scheme needs to be clear and straightforward for the maximum number of farmers to be able to claim.
"We will need to see the banks showing a similar level of confidence in the selected projects, so that farmers have access to the match funds required on the right terms.”
Applicants should check the RDPE website for details.
