The government has committed £30 million for further rounds of
the popular Countryside Productivity Small Grants scheme (CPSGS),
which helps farmers buy the equipment they need to boost
productivity and increase yields.
The first round of funding for small grants was launched in
February and the government is on course to grant more than £15
million to farmers who applied to buy new kit.
This will include equipment specific to cattle, sheep and pig
farmers, as well as precision farming and resource management
equipment for arable farmers.
The next application window will open in early 2019, with over
£30 million available for future funding rounds for farmers.
Environment Secretary made the announcement ahead of
the Government’s Agri-Tech Investment roundtable in London on
Thursday 11 October, hosted by DIT and attended by Defra, BEIS
and DFID alongside investors including Bayer Crop Sciences,
Elanco, Marine Harvest and Zoetis.
Environment Secretary said:
The UK is a world-leader for talent in agriculture and
technology, so there are real opportunities for our burgeoning
agri-tech sector. Harnessing technology enables our hard
working farmers to become even more productive and
environmentally efficient.
We are already seeing the rewards of investing in agri-tech,
with further funding of around £30m confirmed 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,
productive and resilient.
Following industry feedback, new items have also been added to
the list of equipment eligible for funding in the second round,
including fruit ripeness spectrometers and nitrogen-measuring
devices for calculating fertiliser application for crops.
Information about the scheme and the
items eligible for the first round of funding are listed
online. Further details will be published in early 2019 when the
next round of funding opens for applications
