The Welsh Government has confirmed two funding schemes to support investment in on farm infrastructure which will help to build resilience to the potential impact of climate change.
The £20m package of measures is part of the commitment under the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru to work with the farming community in the deployment of the regulations to improve water and air quality. The Nutrient Management Investment Scheme and the Small Grants – Yard Coverings scheme will open by summer and detailed guidance will be available shortly.
Both schemes are designed to enable farmers to address nutrient management and storage by providing support for additional slurry storage capacity and / or prevent rainwater entering slurry stores to reduce storage capacity requirement. The support has been increased to provide a maximum 50% contribution towards certain project costs.
The Rural Affairs Secretary, Huw Irranca-Davies, is encouraging applicants to consider potential investments prior to application windows opening, and where appropriate, engage with local planning authorities. Planning and SuDS applications should be submitted as soon as possible (doing this work in advance of an application window will not affect your eligibility to apply).
He also confirmed that if farmers are having difficulties meeting the requirements of their contracts, as a result of this prolonged wet weather period, they should contact Rural Payments Wales as soon as possible to discuss their options or to request a derogation. All requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Further details on the schemes will be available at Rural grants and payments.
