The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP have announced a further £31 million which is available for farmers in the UK in a drive to increase the production of sustainable produce. Government has set out plans for the money to go towards equipment and technology, two areas which are detrimental to the overall sustainability of the UK’s production of food, as well as support slurry management.
The £31 million, announced on 8th June, will benefit farmers by providing opportunities to obtain new equipment and technology on farms, presented in the recent round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). Those who apply to the fund and are successful with their application may now claim for grants within the Productivity and Slurry fund, which helps to cover expenses of over 90 pieces of equipment. Examples in the past of farmers who have been successful with their application include purchasing rainwater harvesting tanks, as an effort to reduce the problem of lack of water in the summer months, where rainfall is limited. As well as this, equipment to minimise the effects of spreading slurry, which avoids problems such as the contamination of grass and ammonia emissions.
The funding provided by the FETF presents farming businesses with the prospect of new tools and devices to further develop the sustainability of their products across the areas of agriculture, horticulture and forestry. The Productivity and Slurry grants announced target the specific goals of sustainability by supporting farmers obtaining technology and equipment to reduce the amount of inputs used by farmers across the UK, as well as reduce emissions and waste production.
For the FEFT 2023 Productivity and Slurry grants, set up by the government, over 3,000 applications have been received. As a result of this high demand, the Government has announced an increase in the total amount of funding offered to farmers in the UK from £17 million to £31 million. In 2023 so far, a further 21 items have been included under the funding scheme, from orchards and vineyard to reduce input costs for farmers and improve soil’s retention of carbon, to camera-guided inter-row sprayers in a push to reduce the use of herbicides.
The increase in grant funding from £17 million to £31 million ensures as many farmers as possible are able to apply for the fund and, if successful, claim for the equipment to maintain and develop the sustainability of their farm whilst still yielding a high food production. The Secretary of State for Food and Farming, Thérèse Coffey, acknowledged that the high interest in the FETF 2023 Productivity and Slurry fund portrays the determination of UK farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and productive, to continue to deliver produce for the country whilst simultaneously protecting the environment. “We are ensuring out farmers, growers and foresters have the equipment they need to embrace innovation, protect the environment, and contribute towards a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector”, Coffey says.
Items included in the FETF budget are, but not limited to, rainwater harvesting tanks, direct drill with fertiliser placements, tree shears, and dribble bars, all with the common goal of reducing the negative impact on the environment and capitalise from innovations and technology in order to boost food production whilst maintaining the lowest possible carbon footprint.
The FEFT 2023 announced is a part of the Government’s commitment of investing £2.4 billion each year into the farming industry for the rest of the current Parliament. So far in 2023, Government has presented £168 million to farmers in order to increase productivity of farming through 16 grants and competitions, all of which share the ambition of developing productivity research and innovation.
The two themes of the FEFT 2023, Animal Health and Welfare, and Productivity and Slurry, allow both areas to work simultaneously alongside each other, and ensuring the application process is more specifically aligned to the applicant’s needs. Individuals may apply to either or both, depending on their circumstances and which items would suit their business. The Animal Health and Welfare FEFT has been granted with 66 new items available through the fund, and applications remain open for the Animal Health and Welfare strand of FEFT 2023 until the 15th June 2023.
The Government has also announced their future plans for support to farmers. The intention at this stage is to present further rounds of the FEFT funding, allowing more farmers to benefit from the fund.
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