WIREDGOV

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths is urging farmers across Wales to take advantage of Welsh Government funding designed to improve the economic and environmental performance of agricultural holdings.

The Farm Business Grant (FBG) helps farmers make their businesses more efficient, resilient and environmentally friendly by providing a contribution towards capital investments in items of equipment and machinery.  

The third application window for the FBG opens on 29 January and will remain open until midnight on 16th March.  It builds on the success of the first two windows which has seen over 850 applications, requesting a total of £5.7m of grant support.

Administration of the FBG will be transferred to Rural Payments Wales (RPW) for the third and subsequent windows.  Applications and claims for the FBG will now be submitted through RPW Online.

The third window introduces new flexibility to the grant, allowing farmers to submit more than one application in a scheme year within the £3,000 to £12,000 grant limit.  There are also minor changes to some of the eligible items – an updated full list of items is available on the Farm Business Grant page on the Welsh Government’s website.

Farmers will still be required to attend one of the Farming for the Future events, which will be held across Wales between 17 January and 1 February.  Farmers who have already attended one of these events will not be required to attend again, unless they wish to do so.

The FBG is an important element of the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, and is a key commitment in the Programme for Government: Taking Wales Forward.

Cabinet Secretary said:  

“Our farm Business Grant provides vital funding to help farmers invest in their business and improve the economic and environmental performance of their holdings.  This funding is more important than ever as we prepare for an uncertain future as we leave the EU.

“We have been able to make some changes to the third window, to improve and provide flexibility to how the grant will work, by listening to feedback about the grant. I encourage farmers across Wales to attend a ‘Farming for the Future’ roadshow and find out more information on the wide range of advice and support available to them.”

For information on dates and locations for the roadshows and to reserve a place, visit Farming Connect or call the Farming Connect Service Centre on 08456 000 813.