Enterprise

There is still time to take part in the future Agriculture Bill consultation which closes on the 5th December 2022! 

The Scottish Government is committed to realising its Vision for Agriculture and transforming how they support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

Scotland's rural economy contributes significantly to providing employment for people and to the national economic output. Rural areas face particular skills challenges, including skills shortages, talent retention and attraction, and demographic challenges.

In response, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government launched the Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland: 2019-2021 in June 2019.

The Places and Health programme at the University of Glasgow have today published a nationwide equity assessment of the 20-minute neighbourhood policy in Scotland.

Over 70 people and rural representatives from Scotland gathered online and in Birnam on Tuesday 8^th November to agree actions to support Scotland’s Rural Movement.

A total of 33 businesses, large and small, will receive grants ranging from £16,000 to £1.4 million from the Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) grant scheme.

Projects include capacity building for a dairy farm to meet the growing demand for its soft cheese, setting up of a new venison processing operation and installation of solar panels at a butcher premises to reduce carbon footprint and minimise electricity costs.

Festival fever has hit Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway, with the triumphant return of the Festival of Folklore!

The Helping it Happen Awards 2022, run by Scottish Land & Estates, have announced the finalists within the remaining four of their nine categories. Each of these categories focuses on rural businesses and how these businesses interact with their local communities and with visitors – highlighting how rural areas are underpinned by the business operating within them.

Thousands of businesses can now apply for up to £15,000 to help retrain and upskill their workforce.

The Scottish Government’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund provides workers in organisations of all sizes with access to training courses through local colleges, the Open University in Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.