Farm Resource Improvement Programme (FRIP) - deadline imminent

The FRIP is a programme of grant support for farmers to improve profitability and competitiveness by investing in technologies to promote the efficient use of energy, manure and water resources, or improve animal health and welfare.  The programme is available to all farmers across the region and can give grants of up to £25,000 per farm business.  There are five types of projects which will be eligible for funding under FRIP.  In the first round - which closes on 12 March - energy efficiency, nutrient management, rainwater harvesting/water recycling and animal health and welfare are eligible.

Details of the four project types in the first round of the FRIP are as follows:

1.       Energy efficiency -  eg heat recovery devices, heat exchangers, ice builders;

2.       Nutrient Management - eg  mechanical slurry separator systems, macerators, slurry injectors;

3.       Rainwater harvesting/water recycling systems - eg connecting piping and storage tanks to enable collection and recycling of rainwater from roofs fixed pumps, UV filtration systems and slurry/silage store roofs where part of a wider farm rainwater harvesting application; and

4.       Animal Health and Welfare - eg specialist livestock handling equipment, electronic weigh cells, dairy cluster flushing systems and heat detection systems.  Submission of a farm health plan will be mandatory.

For later rounds SEEDA will add small scale renewable energy - wind turbines, ground source heat pumps, woodfuel/ biomass boilers/solar panels on farm buildings. This will only be added once issues over Feed-in-tariffs have been finalised.

Who is eligible?

The programme is available to all farmers across the region and can give grants of up to £25,000 per farm business.  The aim to have rounds every two months initially with the first round closing date set on 12 March 2010.  This is because SEEDA are aware that a large number of potential applicants have projects sitting ready and waiting. The second round closing date will be mid May, when the animal health planning project will be up and running.

How does it relate to Leader?

SEEDA took the decision to handle FRIP regionally rather than putting it through the Leader groups after discussion with the Leader groups in August and the RDPE network in September.  This was to ensure that all applicants, regardless of geographical location, would have equal access to the funds and all application appraisals would be treated consistently. Some of the Leader groups have large Measure 121 budgets ( the primary measure the programme would come under) whilst others have very little.  If the leader groups had been running FRIP, some groups would have approved very few FRIP type projects because these types of activities were never identified as a priority in their local development strategies. Therefore, for SEEDA,  the most obvious solution to ensure no farmer was disadvantaged was to manage it centrally in-house with a small grant programme. 

SEEDA has offered the Leader groups the opportunity to fund FRIP projects once they have been through the SEEDA appraisal process. Most of the Leader groups don't want to do this and will look to either find other larger projects (more than the £25k grant) to spend their M121 funding on, or move these funds elsewhere. Any groups that do want to fund FRIP projects can do so, and it will help them spend their M121 budgets. 

How to apply?

The application form is Excel based.  It will calculate energy, CO2 emissions and amount of fertiliser saved and renewable energy generated. The forms are similar to those being used in other RDAs.  SEEDA will offer support in filling in the form and the guidance notes accompanying the forms are quite extensive.

Enquiries to:  Jacquie Middleton, RDPE Strategic Programme Manager email: JacquieMiddleton@seeda.co.uk   

Tel: 01483 484207  Mobile: 07785 508023