£132,102 has recently been awarded to farmers and foresters in Richard's North East Bedfordshire constituency by DEFRA as part of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). This will help growers boost farm productivity, reduce waste and cut input costs, as well as increase environmental sustainability and improve slurry management.
The government has increased the budget to £31 million in response to farmer demand from the original budget of £17 million. This means more than 3,000 farmers and contractors are set to receive grants to invest in improving the sustainability of their farm businesses.
Commenting, Richard Fuller MP said:
By empowering farms to invest cash in new kit, the government is ensuring our farmers, growers and foresters have the equipment they need to embrace innovation, protect the environment, and contribute to a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector.
Through the fund, the government is offering investment in over 90 pieces of equipment which will support food security by, for example, reducing the spread of pests and diseases and sustainably managing valuable nutrients on farm. Examples of successful applications include rainwater harvesting tanks to improve water security for farmers in the summer; tree shears to help stop the spread of pests and diseases; to equipment to minimise grass contamination and ammonia emissions when spreading slurry.
The fund forms part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to invest £2.4 billion per year in farming for the rest of this Parliament. In 2023 alone, at least £168 million is being made available to increase farming productivity through 16 different grants and competitions themed around productivity, research and innovation.
There will be further rounds of this offer, alongside larger grants to support further investment in water storage and improving irrigation slurry infrastructure, as well as funding for automation and robotics. This sits alongside our Environmental Land Management schemes, where payments for over 200 actions are currently available to farmers across the country.
For more information about the fund and how to apply please visit this government page.
