Moray SNP News

MORAY MSP WELCOMES NEW FUND TO HELP GROW LOCAL SUPPLY CHAINS

Richard Lochhead MSP has welcomed Scottish Government plans for a new fund that will support small scale producers to create more localised supply chains and cut food miles. 

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Mairi Gougeon, announced the Small Producers Pilot Fund, which aims to help individual small producers increase their resilience and to enhance the role they play in our rural economy.

The fund is set to open later this year and will improve access to training, skills, further processing, and food supply chains – giving producers the opportunity to enhance their value and become more sustainable.

Welcoming the new fund, Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said:

“Small producers already play an incredibly important role in Moray’s local economy, which is famous for first class food and drink produce, and it is important that the Scottish Government supports those businesses to grow.

“This new fund will give small producers in Moray and across Scotland greater support, for example through training and developing skills, to become more resilient, to increase the role they play in the rural economy, and to become more sustainable.

“The Scottish Government will work with industry to ensure funding is flexible and meets it key aims, which includes increasing the proportion of food grown, processed and consumed locally, which is not only good for the rural economy but will also help to reduce food miles.”