£170k for projects to help farmers improve nature

A trio of projects to help farmers improve nature and adapt to climate change has been awarded £170,000 from the Scottish Government.

Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon said the funding through the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) would drive forward innovation in farming and food production, and help agricultural businesses contribute to the green economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Projects like these help farmers and crofters in rural and island communities to explore new ways of protecting and restoring biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems,” added

Ms Gougeon.

One of the projects in receipt of funding is Farming for Biodiversity, which aims to increase biodiversity habitats within enclosed farmland.

Facilitated by Soil Association Scotland, the project aims to help farmers adapt to climate change, restore biodiversity and improve business performance.

Colleen McCulloch from Soil Association Scotland said: “The project will allow us to develop a framework to benchmark the ways grazing livestock can rebuild natural capital as well as produce nutritious food.”

A project to develop a new agricultural input that captures carbon dioxide has also received support.

Facilitated by the Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA), the project will collect data on, and encourage uptake of, the use of silicate rocks originating in the quarrying sector as an input in the farming sector.

Lastly, a project to boost wader bird numbers on farmland on Shetland has received funding and aims to produce best practice guidance on wader habitat management.