Scottish Enterprise and agriculture

As an important part of Scotland’s Food & Drink supply chain Scottish Enterprise is working with a number of partners to deliver practical projects these include the Scottish Government, Quality Meat Scotland, the NFUS, Home Grown Cereals Authority, SAC, the National Parks and SAOS.

Some of the projects to help farm businesses improve their productivity, and the key role they play in the national food and drink supply chain include:

Planning to Succeed

Following a successful pilot and supported by Young Farmers Scottish Enterprise is currently supporting over 15 Planning to Succeed Groups in Scotland. Planning to Succeed is a comprehensive programme of support designed to assist farmers improve and in some cases establish their business and management skills. The programme aims to make them more aware of the market and environment they operate in and provide them with the necessary skills to assist them to move away from a culture of subsidy towards a sustainable and market focused rural business. It works by establishing small groups of young enthusiastic farmers who work together to take their businesses forward. A recent evaluation of Planning to Succeed showed a net additional GVA of £3.7m for a project contribution of £340,000.

Monitor Farms

Following the success of the first Scottish Monitor Farm supported by Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Enterprise Network is currently supporting 4 monitor farms in partnership with the Scottish Government, Quality Meat Scotland and the Home Grown Cereals Authority. The main objectives of this project are to increase farmers’ awareness of manageable factors affecting their businesses; to motivate them to modify their systems to increase productivity; and to motivate them to be market driven.

Land Based Business Training

Last year Scottish Enterprise provided support to a Land Based Training Initiative developed by the Cairngorms National Park. The main aim of the project is to improve the performance and competitiveness of land-based businesses, which are located throughout the National Park through establishing a more highly trained, flexible and efficient workforce. It is believed that if successful this may have the potential to be replicated throughout rural Scotland

Rural Leadership

During 2007 Scottish Enterprise supported 60 individuals, many of them from agriculture, to progress through its Rural Leadership Programme. Involving 11 days of activity the programme is designed to develop the skills of potential rural leaders to lead more effective organisations, improve the professionalism of Rural Scotland and enhance rural and agricultural business representation in Rural Policy making. The Programme was oversubscribed and also involves participants contributing towards the funding of the programme. It is intended to run this programme again in 2008.