Funding

The Moray LEADER Team were pleased to welcome Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing earlier this month for a roundtable discussion and briefing with LAG members, successful applicants and representatives of tsiMORAY, the local Accountable Body.

The Cabinet Secretary spent almost two hours with the group and was briefed on current issues around LEADER in Scotland, the wide range of projects funded by the programme and the unique nature of Moray LEADER.

Mr Ewing said:

The 2018 application window for the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) is now open.

The scheme supports environmentally-friendly land management practices that aim to safeguard and improve Scotland’s natural heritage and help businesses adapt to climate change.

The AECS 2018 application window opened today (17 January) and will run for 12 weeks until 13 April 2018. The deadline for applications for collaborative projects which involve five or more businesses is 31 May 2018.

Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing has announced an increase in funding for tree planting schemes in the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN).

The Central Scotland Green Network area stretches from Ayrshire and Inverclyde in the west, to Fife and the Lothians in the east. Currently, around 2,500ha of woodland creation activity, about the same size as East Kilbride, is being planned for this year.

Over 800 projects in Scotland are to benefit from funding from the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme to encourage environmentally-friendly land management practices.

AECS 2017 has awarded £47.7 million to 801 projects over the next five years to protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk, and help agricultural businesses adapt to climate change.

Announcing the award, Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said:

The Scottish Rural Network has teamed up with SCVO's Funding Scotland to provide an advanced online funding search to help you find funding for your charity, community group or enterprise.  

Since launching earlier this year, the Scottish Rural Network Funding Search has helped charities, community groups and enterprises navigate the funding maze.

We want to make sure our search tool does exactly what you need it to. That's why we're asking for your help.

A new fund will support young people who have an idea to promote Scotland's amazing natural environment in 2018.

The Future Routes fund has been created by Scottish Natural Heritage, YoungScot and ReRoute as part of the Year of Young People 2018. The fund is open to individuals and groups of young people from across Scotland aged 11-26.

Funded by the Scottish Government, the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) exists to help new farmers and crofters grow their business through a range of business development support and one-to-one advisory services.

As a new farmer or crofter you are entitled to access a range of subsidised expert business support –worth up to a total of £2,200–to help you increase the profitability and sustainability of your new business.