New entrant and young farmer start-up grants worth £4.2
million were announced last night by the Scottish Government.
The money will be shared among 81 applicants to help them create and develop their businesses.
The funding is part of the New Entrant Start-Up Grant (Nesug) and Young Farmer Start-Up Grant (YFSUG) schemes. A total of 23 Nesug and 58 YFSUGs applications were approved.
Announcing the funding, Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing said it was vital to the
sustainability of agriculture in Scotland that the government did everything in its power to encourage new entrants to farming.
“With the average age of Scottish farmers currently close to 60 years old, there is, of course, an emphasis on encouraging young people to farming, but new entrants of any age are welcome, and can help to drive innovation and improve best practice across the industry, whilstcontributing to the economic vitality of the sector,” he said.
“Today’s funding announcement brings the total funding from EU and Scottish Government to over £13.8 million, supporting the development and creation of almost 256 new farms across Scotland.”
