This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Agricultural Business Development Scheme
06/10/2004
Rural communities in the Highlands are to receive a
total of £846,413 from the Agricultural Business
Development Scheme (ABDS).
The money is being shared among 67 projects to enable
farming families to restructure or diversify their farming
businesses.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"The Scottish Executive is working in a number of ways
to increase prosperity and improve the quality of life in
rural Scotland. This scheme continues to play an important
part in this work.
"I am particularly pleased that application numbers are
rapidly increasing again after a period of decline. In the
past we have seen applicants missing out on capital grants
because they waited too long to submit an application.
"Total ABDS grant to date is now in excess of £10m
contributing to total investment of over £30m. This has
created and maintained jobs in some of the Highland and
Islands most remote and fragile communities.
"Further funding of nearly £850,000 is further good
news for farm businesses, farming families and local
communities throughout the Highlands and Islands."
ABDS is a business development scheme for
farmers/crofters and their immediate families and operates
across the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional
Programme Area (H&ISTP).
Farmers in the rest of Scotland are eligible to apply
for grant assistance under the Farm Business Development
Scheme.
Some 839 applications have been successful since the
ABDS was launched in late 2000. Total grants of £10,496,627
have been awarded.
ABDS is a discretionary and competitive scheme providing
variable grant assistance of up to 50 per cent to farmers
wishing to restructure or re-orientate production, or to
diversify either within or out with agriculture. The scheme
is co-financed by the Executive and the European Union.
The overall budget for the scheme is approximately £17
million, which is broken down into yearly tranches in the
H&ISTP.
Applications are assessed by a Project Assessment
Committee (PAC).
The non-agricultural diversification PAC is made up from
representatives of the Scottish Executive and from partner
organisations including local authorities, Highlands and
Islands Enterprise (HIE), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)
and VisitScotland.
Industry interests are represented by NFU Scotland, the
Scottish Crofting Foundation and the Scottish Rural
Property and Business Association, who can send
representatives to observe the proceedings. All of the
above organisations were involved in the scheme's
design.
The ABDS is scheduled to run until 2006.