What will the RPDE fund?

RPDE funding is available for the following broad areas:

Grants for farming and forestry activities

• Training and information provision.
• Forestry advisory services.
• Setting up of management, relief and advisory services for farm and forestry businesses.
• Modernisation of agricultural holdings.
• Improvement of the economic value of forests.
• Adding value to agricultural and forestry products.
• Cooperation for development of new products, processes and technologies.
• Investment in small scale renewable energy.

Grants for rural businesses and community projects

• Farm diversification into non-agricultural activities.
• Business creation and development targeted at micro-businesses with less than ten employees.
• Encouragement of certain tourism activity such as eco-tourism, high value/low impact tourism or the creation of tourism networks.
• Basic services for the rural population.
• Conservation and upgrading of the rural heritage.
• Training and information for non farm and forestry businesses.
• Support for local development strategies.
• Investment in small scale renewable energy.

What will the RDFE not fund?

The following activities are unlikely to be eligible:

• Core agricultural production, for example, erection of farm buildings for primary farming purposes.
• Purely environmental projects.
• Certain tourism provision in areas where there is already oversupply of facilities.
• Activities that might be funded by other grant programmes.

How much grant is available?

Grant rates vary according to the type of project. Grants to individual businesses for projects generating an economic return will generally be funded at up to 40%, but higher grant rates may be offered for training and community based projects.