MAF Sustainable Farming Fund:

Launch of the 2008/ 2009 Funding Round

“Funding from the Grass-Roots Up: helping rural communities help themselves”

Each year the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) provides up to $9.5 million in grants for projects that contribute to the on-going economic, environmental, and social wellbeing of the country’s primary producers.

There is one funding round per year and now is the time to plan an application for funding commencing in July 2008. Applications close on Monday 11 February 2008.

There are two categories of grant funding available:

• Grants of less than $20,000 (incl GST) — particularly aimed at small/ local projects, for new crops or small sectors.
  
• Grants greater than $20,000 up to a maximum value of $200,000 (incl GST) per annum.
  

In the 2007 funding round, 68 projects received SFF grant support from 215 applications. These included projects across the horticultural, agricultural and forestry sectors, and involved a wide range of activity, including the following:

• Developing sustainable integrated pest management systems in arable crops;
  


• Using maize to manage dairy shed effluent;
  


• Investigating the non-chemical control of kumara rots;
  


• Developing sustainable controls for varroa bee mite; and
  


• Producing and on-line pest and disease database for forestry.
  

For more information on these, and other previously funded projects, go to
http://www.maf.govt.nz/sff/about-projects/index.htm

Applications must be on the official electronic application forms. These forms, together with guidelines and criteria, are now available from the SFF website: www.maf.govt.nz/sff.

Groups putting together an application are encouraged to contact an SFF project advisor:

ENDS