£10m fund soon opens to support sustainability of NI farms

The scheme encourages farmers to purchase equipment and machinery, costing from £5,000 to £30,000, from a list of eligible items
The scheme encourages farmers to purchase equipment and machinery, costing from £5,000 to £30,000, from a list of eligible items

A £10 million fund to support the sustainability of Northern Irish farm businesses will soon open for applications.

The fourth tranche of Tier 1 of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme - Capital (FBIS-C) aims to support smaller scale on-farm investments.

The scheme encourages farmers to purchase equipment and machinery, costing from £5,000 to £30,000, from a list of eligible items.

It opens for applications on Tuesday 27 September 2022, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots announced.

“In what has been a very challenging year for our farmers, this fourth tranche is a timely boost for agriculture and horticulture with up to £10m allocated for projects," he said.

“This will build upon the success of the previous tranches of Tier 1, which to date has provided £26 million grant support to over 4,000 farmers and growers.”

Minister Poots said he was seeking to assist Northern Irish farm businesses in dealing with the impacts of higher input costs.

He added: “I want to encourage applications for equipment with the potential to help address increased costs for feed, fuel and fertiliser."

Items will have an increased item score, compared to previous tranche, to assist in addressing the issues of higher feed, fuel and fertiliser costs.

This includes equipment for grassland management, silage quality, feed efficiency, precision farming and related activities.

Applications for FBIS Capital Tier 1 Tranche 4 must be made by the closing date on 11 November 2022.