Farms in England have been urged to apply for the new Improving Farm Productivity grant which offers up to £35,000 in funding for capital items to improve farm and horticulture productivity through: the use of robotic or autonomous equipment and systems to aid crop and livestock production, or the installation of slurry acidification equipment. The minimum eligible spend for each project is £87,500 with the grant providing up to 40 of overall funding for eligible projects.
Jonathan Hird, chartered surveyor for H&H explained, “The aim of this new grant scheme is to improve productivity, improve the environment, and introduce innovation to bring farms forward into the 21st century with robotic equipment.” He added, “The first stage of the process, due to open in mid-January for eight weeks only, is an online checker. This is a process which identifies whether the farm business is eligible for the grant funding. If deemed eligible, you will then be invited to complete a full application. It is important to note that unless you have completed the online checker, you cannot submit a full application.”
In particular, Defra has identified the following areas as key areas where grants will be considered:
- Improving efficiency and effectiveness of primary agricultural or horticultural production
- Reducing your farms environmental impact resulting in a positive contribution to net zero and GHG reduction
- Improving nutrient and resource management that supports optimisation of field and livestock operations
- Adoption of automation in areas where access to labour is an issue.