On Tuesday 31st October the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it would be making a £40 million in funding available for the rollout of the next stage of the Country Productivity Scheme. This is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is the second phase of the Large Grants scheme that had been first announced in July 2017.
Under this new scheme, grants are available to help livestock, dairy, arable and horticultural farmers improve farm productivity through investing in new technology, such as robotics, to reduce cost or improve product quality. The funding can be used on diverse investments, from robotic milking machines to green technology.
The scheme was announced by the Secretary of State at the 2017 World Dairy Summit in Belfast. He said “Farmers truly are the backbone of our rural economy and as the original friends of the earth, we want to support them to grow more, sell more and export more great British produce – all while doing good for our environment. This new funding is a wonderful opportunity for our farmers and food processors to invest in the technology they need to boost productivity, competition and, of course, sustainability as a key factor in future proofing our world leading food and farming industry.”
Commenting on the announcement, Mr Huddleston said: “I welcome the Government’s announcement of a new grants scheme for farmers. Last week I had questioned the Minister for Agriculture in the House of Commons about what consideration the Government has given to increasing productivity in the farming sector through investment and I’m delighted that it is making these funds available. I hope this scheme will be of great benefit to farmers in my constituency, who I know are concerned about their need to invest in new technology.”