O'Neill announces 3,225 applicants will receive Business Development Group places

Announcing progress to date on the roll out of the BDG programme Minister O’Neill said: “I am delighted to announce that all 3,225 eligible applicants, who applied to the Programme at the end of last year, will be offered a place within a local BDG. Initially it was planned to allocate 1,500 places before the end of March, with an additional 1,500 joining the programme later in the year. However, demand for the programme was such that I have decided to offer places now to all eligible applicants so that they can start maximising the benefits as early as possible.

“Eligible applicants will be notified of the group they are to join shortly, and they will also receive an invitation to their first meeting along with a copy of their membership agreement. I would encourage all eligible applicants to take time to carefully read this document as it will provide, in detail, the terms and conditions of participation within the Programme.”

CAFRE will hold one training event for all eligible applicants before the end of March 2016. Participants will be able to claim payment for costs incurred for attending this training event, details of which will be included within their membership agreement. A full programme of eight training events will then follow from April through to March each year for the next five years.

Minister O’Neill continued: “The BDG programme is part of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme which aims to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of local farm businesses. By participating in BDGs, farmers will be able to work together to help develop their businesses and adopt new technology with the overall aim of improving farm profitability. They will be supported by a CAFRE Development Adviser and will have the option to gain a Level 3 qualification. In these challenging times, being part of a BDG has the potential to help farmers improve their business decisions, in relation to future investment, technical improvements and efficiency savings. Farmers should look forward to further elements of the FBIS opening for applications in 2016.”

The Business Development Groups (BDG) Programme is part-funded through Pillar II of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020. The key aim of the BDG programme is to help farmers improve their technical and business efficiency