THE Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced that an additional £400,000 is available for the second tranche of Tier 1 of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme – Capital (FBIS-C).
Almost 3,000 applications were received under the second tranche of the scheme, which is designed to support small scale investments that will improve the sustainability of farm businesses through the purchase of equipment and machinery, costing from £5,000 to £30,000.
A DAERA spokesperson confirmed: “The total budget for Tier 1 of the FBIS-C is £15 million, and with £7.1 million spent on tranche 1, the Department has confirmed that £7.9million will be available for this tranche.
“This increased budget for tranche 2 will help to ensure that the future sustainability of even more farms in Northern Ireland is achieved through capital investment in equipment that will also bring about improvements to the environment, animal and plant health, occupational health and safety and production efficiency.
"This additional funding will also help to ensure that the target spend of £15million over both tranches of this popular scheme is achieved and will be a further boost to the wider agricultural and horticultural economy."
To date 1,480 letters of offer for grants totalling £7.5million have been issued. Letters will continue to be issued to eligible applications on a weekly basis until the available budget is fully allocated. It is expected that unsuccessful applicants will be notified by early June.
Farmers who receive a letter of offer should read it carefully and, if prepared to accept the terms and conditions of the scheme, must complete and return their form of acceptance to the FBIS-C, Tier 1 Delivery Agent, Countryside Services Ltd, within 28 days. Successful farmers have four months from the date of the letter to complete their purchases and submit their claim.
