On 31st March, the Welsh Government announced that £227 million would be made available over the next three years to support the rural economy and natural environment.
Funding will be available to farmers, foresters, land managers and associated rural sectors and will be delivered across six themes:
- Farm scale land management - on-farm sustainable land management actions to enhance natural resources, such as encouraging the growing of crops which provide an environmental benefit like protein crops
- On farm environmental improvements - including enhancing fuel, feed and nutrient efficiency, embedding circular economy approaches and encouraging the use of renewable energy
- On farm efficiency and diversification - supporting farm efficiencies through investment in new technology and equipment and to enable opportunities for agricultural diversification
- Landscape scale land management - delivering nature based solutions at a landscape scale, through a multi-sectoral collaborative approach
- Woodland and forestry - working towards the Welsh Government’s tree planting targets and supporting the creation of a timber based industrial strategy
- Food and farming supply chains - creating a strong and vibrant Welsh food and drink industry with a global reputation for excellence with one of the most environmentally and socially responsible supply chains in the world.
Schemes worth a total value of £100 million are either open now or will be launched during the coming weeks.
Further information will be made available here over the coming weeks and months: https://gov.wales/rural-grants-payments