Defra Secretary Michael Gove has announced that rural business owners will get a £40 million productivity boost in the form of grants that can be used by livestock, arable and horticultural farmers.
The fund, which is available via the Countryside Productivity Scheme, will be delivered as part of the £200 million Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is the second phase of the Large Grants scheme announced earlier this year.
Farmers who apply for grants can use them to grow their businesses by investing in new technologies, such as robotics for milking, to reduce costs or improve product quality.
The first phase of the Large Grants scheme saw £6 million set aside for forestry projects and a £14 million fund open for water resource management. At the same time, £30 million was made available for projects to boost broadband and connectivity for rural business owners.
According to Mr Gove, the second tranche of grants will help to create more exporting opportunities for agricultural business owners and boost the UK’s economy.
As he underlined at the 2017 World Dairy Summit, where he made the announcement, farmers are the backbone of the rural economy, so the Government wants to support them to grow more, sell more and export more, all while doing good for the environment.
He added that the new funding is a wonderful opportunity for farmers and food processors to invest in the technology they need to boost productivity, competition and sustainability as a key factor in future-proofing the UK’s world-leading food and farming industry.
The announcement came as a new report highlighted how ‘smart farming’ and technological advances can be embraced in order to support the growing global population.
