The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says the 2015/16 Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) will open on 7 August 2014.
MPI Director Aquaculture Growth and Innovation Kathy Mansell invites applications from farmers (land and marine), growers and foresters for projects that deliver economic, environmental and social benefits to New Zealand's primary industries.
“We invite the primary industry sector to identify projects that tackle a shared problem or develop a new opportunity to provide practical solutions for the primary industries.
“This is a very successful fund as demonstrated by a recent evaluation that found it was achieving what it was set up to do,” says Mrs Mansell.
To date the SFF has supported nearly 900 innovative projects across the primary sector, totalling approximately $110 million in SFF grants. Its scope was widened in 2012 to include the aquaculture sector.
The SFF invests $8m per year and can fund up to 80 percent of the projects, however on average, successful projects leverage approximately 50 percent of cash and in-kind from other parties.
All applications are submitted through the online grants portal: https://mpi.force.com/grants .
Further information on how to apply using the portal and other SFF information including application guidelines will be provided on 7 August 2014 when the fund round opens.
The 2015/16 SFF funding round closes at 5pm on 10 October 2014.