£2m grants boost for region’s farmers
HUNDREDS OF farmers in Yorkshire have had applications approved for funds of more than £2m in an effort to boost productivity across the region’s countryside.
Some 401 eligible applications in the region worth £2,387,046 will be provided should farmers accept their offers from the Countryside Productivity Small Grants scheme, with the majority of the cash set to go to 291 farmers in North Yorkshire. It comes as farming faces up to the daunting challenges of feeding an increasing population while also coping with the effects of climate change.
The National Farmers’ Union has previously warned that the funding must be built upon with a commitment to future spending for the burgeoning agricultural science sector.
More than 3,600 farmers across the country are set to benefit from £22m in equipment under round two of the Government’s scheme.
Under the project, applicants can ask for grants of between £3,000 and £12,000 to invest in new and innovative equipment – from livestock monitoring cameras to precision farming technology – which aim to help businesses save time and money
and improve productivity. Farming Minister George Eustice confirmed today that all eligible applications have been approved as part of round two of the scheme, with the Rural Payments Agency writing to the 3,677 successful applicants from today.
The first round of funding opened last year, with £15m spent to support farmers investing in technology to boost their productivity, meaning that £37m has been allocated to farmers in the scheme’s first two rounds. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed that a third and final funding round will open in autumn 2020.
Mr Eustice said: “Yorkshire is a huge and varied farming county, and over 400 farmers and growers here now have the opportunity to invest in game-changing technology across a range of farming operations, from arable to sheep farming in the hills.
“The livestock monitoring cameras, handling systems and innovative weighing equipment available under this scheme have proven particularly popular among Yorkshire farmers, to help those working with livestock save valuable time and money.”
The Rural Payments Agency is encouraging farmers to speak to their suppliers to confirm the items they wish to order are available before accepting their grant.
The agency’s chief executive Paul Caldwell said that “harnessing innovative technology can provide a real boost for productivity across the farming sector”.
However, Martin Lines, the Nature Friendly Farming Network’s chairman, said last week farmers had received “plenty of warm words” from the Government but no long-term funding guarantees for projects to help them to tackle issues such as capture carbon and reverse habitat loss.