FRA Calls On Forestry Industry To Claim Funding Under New Scheme
Forestry Research Associates is hoping to raise awareness of a new £20 million fund available to help rural businesses, including the forestry industry, in the UK.
Online, November 17, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Forestry Research Associates (FRA) is hoping to raise awareness of a new £20 million fund available to help rural businesses, including the forestry industry, in the UK.
Forestry professionals, farmers and horticulturalists can claim a portion of the funding, which has been made available to help boost these industries. The funding has been announced by the Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice, who said that the cash is intended to help green projects to thrive in the UK by providing much-needed funding.
He explained, "Growing our economy goes hand-in-hand with protecting and improving our environment. We want rural businesses to thrive and this new fund will help farmers, foresters and horticulturists to boost their profits and use greener and more efficient ways of working."
Each project can claim up to £25,000, which can be used to pay for more machinery, or other additions to their business, which will help their business to grow and continue to be sustainable.
FRA is a research and analysis consultancy that promotes sustainable forestry management projects across the globe. It has welcomed the news of the UK funding. Its analysis partner, Peter Collins, said, "This new funding has come at a great time for UK forestry and is somewhat of a pleasant surprise in light of the fact that government cash is still reasonably scarce. We would encourage prospective sustainable forestry projects to use the cash to help fund their projects and increase the amount of forested land in the UK."
The funding, which is available under what is known as the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme, will help projects that can improve soil quality, promote responsible woodland management and boost the amount of habitat for animals.
FSA supports aforestation and forestry investment schemes all over the world, including plantation projects like those run by Greenwood Management in Brazil, which help to reduce reliance on native trees for the production of charcoal.