December 2007

Sustainable Farming & Food Grant

Devon Renaissance, the organisation behind the Sustainable Farming and Food Grant, have made it even easier to apply for funding.

The grant is available to formally organised partnerships of businesses or not-for-profit organisations working in the farming and food industries. Funding is available in only the rural areas of Devon, which means that Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay are excluded.

Projects can be up to 50% funded, with grants ranging from a minimum of £5,000 to a usual threshold of £100,000. Exceptional projects could benefit from even more funding, through these are likely to be very rare.

In order to qualify for support, a project must:

• Improve sector skills: delivering training programmes which improve skills such as management; sales & marketing; vocational training or diversification;
• Develop business infrastructure: this could be via funding initiatives to support collaboration, skills and asset sharing;
• Promote innovation and the application of technology: This could include projects supporting the re-use, reduction and recycling of farm waste or the promotion of innovative working practices aimed at raising business productivity.

Whilst the team at Devon Renaissance will do their best to help any applicant to the programme, specialist consultants are available through a partnership with the Devon Rural Network, who can assist on projects that require additional help.

The project is running until March 2009, and takes applications every two months. The next round of applications will be taken on February the 6th.

For more information on the scheme, call Matt Parkins at Devon Renaissance on 01837 658643, or visit the official website at www.ruraldevon.org.