Fund to help farmers invest for efficiency

A £30 million commitment to help farmers buy the equipment they need to boost productivity has been confirmed.

It comes as the Government has committed further round popular Countryside Productivity Small Grants Scheme (CPSGS), which helps farmers to invest in specific kit that will improve efficiency and increase yields.

In the first round, which opened this February, farmers claimed £15m worth of funding, according to Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, confirmed the further rounds of funding ahead of the Government’s Agri-Tech Investment roundtable in London on Thursday last week.

“The UK is a world-leader for talent in agriculture and technology, so there are real opportunities for our burgeoning agri-tech sector,” he said.

“Harnessing technology enables our hard-working farmers to become even more productive and environmentally efficient.”

Funding in the first round was between £3k and £12k to cover up to 40% of the purchase price of new equipment from a prescribed list worth

‘There are real opportunities for our burgeoning agri-tech sector’

between £12k and £30k. Eligible kit included items specific to cattle, sheep and pig farmers, such as handling systems, and precision farming and resource management equipment for arable farmers. After industry feedback, new items have also been added to eligible for funding in the second round, including fruit ripeness spectrometers and nitrogen-measuring devices for calculating fertiliser application for crops.

Mr Gove added: “We are already seeing the rewards of investing in agri-tech, with around £15m of new funding announced today for farmers to purchase hi-tech equipment. We know that by embracing technology – such as fruit ripeness spectrometers or calving detectors – farm businesses can become more efficient and resilient.”

The small grant funding is available alongside the Countryside Productivity Large Grants Scheme, which have a combined £141m budget.

Both schemes sit within a £200m package of Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding, to boost rural economic growth.

Details will be published in early 2019 when the next round of funding opens for applications.

Michael Gove