Opportunities in LEADER March 26, 2014 12:00 am The farming industry has not generally engaged with the LEADER programme up until now. However, it may be a more useful source of funding for the industry in the future. LEADER (named for its French acronym) funds programmes run by local community partnerships (Local Action Groups, or LAGs in the jargon). It has always been characterised that LEADER pays for things like the thatching of rural bus shelters. However, the new LEADER scheme has more funding, greater responsibilities, and national coverage. It may therefore pay for farmers and their advisors to understand more about the programme. The new LEADER scheme will start on 1st January 2015 as part of the new Rural Development Programme for England. A total budget of £140 million has been set for the programme. The DEFRA CAP implementation document provided guidance on the priority areas of the scheme: support for micro/small enterprises and farm diversification support for increasing farm productivity support for rural tourism support for increasing forestry productivity support for cultural and heritage activity provision of rural services Obviously the latter two points may be of minimal business interest, but the others may be important. Overall around 70% of LEADER funds must directly support the rural economy. The remaining 30% must make a contribution to the local rural economy for example by attracting visitors who will then spend on local businesses and services. DEFRA envisage LEADER LAGs working closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to develop and agree rural economic elements of local development strategies. LEPs themselves have responsibility for distributing £170-£180m over the course of the next RDPE to promote ‘rural growth’. There has previously been criticism of LEPs for not taking much stock in rural projects; perhaps this teaming up with LEADER will allow the substantial funds they have been allocated to be spent on worthwhile agricultural and rural development projects. In any case, it may be worthwhile getting to know what your local LEADER and LEPs are up to. More details can be found for LEADER via – http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/local-action-groups and for LEPs via https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/supporting-economic-growth-through-local-enterprise-partnerships-and-enterprise-zones/supporting-pages/local-enterprise-partnerships DEFRA has allocated LEADER £3 million for supporting transitional and preparatory measures for farms and rural businesses throughout 2014. A further £2million has gone to existing LAGs to help retain capacity andexpertise.
