Rural Support wins tender

Rural Support have been successful in securing the tender to deliver a pilot farm business sustainability programme as part of CAFRE’s Farm Family Key Skills (FFKS) programme.
Veronica Morris Chief Executive and Gillian Reid Head of Farm Support).Veronica Morris Chief Executive and Gillian Reid Head of Farm Support).
Veronica Morris Chief Executive and Gillian Reid Head of Farm Support).

The pilot will see the organisation and its team of business, financial and technical mentors and trainers working one to one and in small group settings with 50 farm businesses across Northern Ireland to assist in decision making to improve the sustainability of the farm business in the short to medium term.

Led by Gillian Reid, Head of Farm Support, and her team, most of the delivery will happen within the next 12 months.

John McKee, CAFRE Farm Family Key Skills Programme Manager said: “Congratulations to Rural Support on securing the tender for the FFKS Business Sustainability Pilot. This new approach to supporting farm businesses will focus on three main strands: business, environment, and people. We look forward to working with Rural Support on the roll out of the programme over the period of the contract and in supporting farmers and farming families who might not ordinarily engage in other programmes or services.”

On learning that the contract had been awarded to Rural Support, Veronica Morris, Chief Executive said: “We were very pleased to have secured this tender which is testament to the hard work and expertise of the team and in particular Gillian Reid and Clodagh Crowe. This programme is an important development both for our farm enterprises and farming families, and for the roll out of Rural Support’s new strategy, where the provision of services and programmes to help farmers incorporate proactive progression planning to their farm enterprise as well as for the farming family is a key element.”

Recruitment of farmers to take part in the programme will start early in 2022 and all training and support will be provided free of charge. For more information contact [email protected] or Freephone 0800 138 1678.