About Countryside Productivity Small Grant Scheme
Find out who can apply for the CPSG, what the grants are for and how much money is available.
Farmers (including livestock, dairy, arable and horticultural sectors) can apply. If you are an agent applying on behalf of a farmer, you must make sure that you have the correct permissions in place in the Rural Payments service. For more information on permissions, see ‘Things you need to know’. The following are not eligible to receive the grants:
- solely contracting businesses including those contract rearing animals[footnote 1]
- non departmental public bodies
- local authorities
- Crown bodies
You must not apply for a grant for any items that you have already applied for[footnote 2] or received funding for under the Fruit and Vegetables Producer Organisation Operational Programme or any other RDPE grant. Examples of RDPE schemes are the RDPE Growth Programme, LEADER, Countryside Productivity, Farming Recovery Fund, Cumbria Countryside Access Fund and Countryside Stewardship.
If you applied for Round 1 and 2, and your applications were successful, but did not reach the £12,000 maximum, you can apply in Round 3. However the grant value of your Round 3 application must be £3,000 or more. Therefore if you received more than £9,000 grant in total from Round 1 and 2, you will not be eligible to apply under Round 3.
If the grant value of your application is less than £3,000, your application will be rejected.
You may only proceed with one successful application per Round.
If your claim was rejected or withdrawn in Round 1 or 2, and you have not already purchased or placed a deposit on those items then you can reapply in Round 3.
| I applied in Round 1 and 2:- | What can I apply for in Round 3? |
|---|---|
| Awarded and received a grant totaling £3,000 to £9,000 | You are eligible to apply in Round 3 |
| Awarded and received a total grant of £9,000.01 to £12,000 | You are not eligible to apply in Round 3 |
| Withdrawn from Round 1 or 2 at either application or claim stage | You can apply for a grant between £3,000 to £12,000 grant |
| Rejected in Round 1 or 2 at either application or claim stage | You can apply for a grant between £3,000 to £12,000 grant but not for any items you have already purchased |
You can apply for funding towards specific items of equipment listed at Annex 3. Annex 4 provides a quick reference breakdown by sector.
All these items have been identified following consultation with industry groups and suppliers as helping achieve improvements in either:
- technical efficiency
- animal health and welfare
- resource efficiency or
- nutrient management
If the equipment you want is not listed at Annex 3, or does not meet the minimum specifications, it is not eligible under this scheme. If you buy any other items not on the list at the same time as buying items that you will claim for then, ask your supplier to invoice you for these non-eligible items separately. It may take us longer to process your claim if these are included with your claim invoices.
The grants are 40% of the standard costs listed in Annex 3 for a minimum grant of £3,000, up to a maximum of £12,000.
Applicants in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly can receive up to 50% of the eligible costs in the application. We will use the location postcodes provided to check that you are eligible for the higher grant rate.
The standard cost for each item in Annex 3 is the actual fixed price which we will pay grant towards. For example, if the standard cost is £7,500, even if the actual amount you pay is only £7,000, you will receive 40% of £7,500 (or 50% if you are located in Cornwall).
Important - By midnight on 31 May 2021, you must have:
- bought all the items
- paid for in full (payment must have left your bank account)
- installed all items applied for, and
- submitted a single claim
All items bought must meet the minimum specifications shown in Annex 3. Only brand new items can be funded through the CPSG. Ex-demo, second hand and ‘try before you buy’ items are not eligible for this scheme. If you claim for these items, your whole claim will be rejected. You cannot use part exchange of goods or invoice credits as evidence of payment. Payment for goods claimed under this scheme must be made in full for the value of the goods shown on the invoice.
If the part exchange is against non-grant funded items, ask the supplier to invoice these separately.
You must also make sure that none of the items in your application are replacements, covered by an insurance claim.
There is no need for you to provide quotes for any item.
The standard cost is net of VAT. There is no option to claim extra VAT if you are not eligible to reclaim it.
You can buy an item that exceeds the specification, but you will only receive a grant based on the standard cost.
If the piece of equipment meets the specification of more than one item, you can only apply for grant on one of the items. For example, if you buy a yield monitoring device, which also has variable rate control functionality, you can only apply for either SG41 Yield Monitoring or SG42 Variable Rate Controller, not both.
The remainder of the project costs must be paid for with money from private sources like savings, bank loan or credit card. Items paid for by hire purchase or lease purchase are not eligible. If you claim for these items, your whole claim will be rejected.
You can’t fund the remainder of your project costs with other EU or UK public funds such as other grants.