Farmers now have access to a new environmental grant scheme to protect and enhance the island’s landscapes.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Grant Scheme will provide a range of funding options to help farmers improve sustainability and enhance biodiversity on their land.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) grant would cover the creation of ponds or native woodlands, the growing of winter cover crops, conserving headlands and farm waste and water management plans.

This is to encourage works that reduce carbon, improve water quality and reduce flooding.

The budget for these initiatives will be phased in over three years and will be over £1m for scheme year 2021-22.

Agriculture Minister Geoffrey Boot MHK said this would ’help deliver a viable and sustainable agriculture sector’.

’In addition to this strategy which delivers productive agriculture, there is a strong commitment to deliver biodiversity, climate change mitigation, catchment management and biosphere targets, which are core objectives of the wider department and government.

’It is likely that once the new climate change action plan is concluded, there will be scope to further expand this scheme to help farmers contribute to reducing agricultural emissions and improve their role in carbon capture, for example through peat restoration and tree planting.’

A public consultation in 2019 showed 90% of respondents agreed a new strategy was needed to deliver an agile, sustainable and self-reliant Manx food chain that efficiently and profitably produces a range of high quality foods to feed the Manx nation.

The amount farmers can apply for could be anywhere from £100 for bird boxes, as an example.

It is yet to be decided what the cap amounts will be for specific initiatives.

Cap amounts

A DEFA spokesman said: ’The Agriculture and Fisheries Grant Scheme under which the grants will be delivered already has a capping procedure max £200,000 over a rolling five years and grants over £40,000 on a rolling year can be capped, the first £40,000 grant paid in full the next £20,000 paid at half rate and the rest paid at one quarter rate.’

In 2002, the then Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry launched a pilot Agriculture Environment Scheme designed to provide support for farmers to manage habitats positively, reduce pollution risks and protect heritage sites by integrating farm management with maintenance and protection of the environment.

At its peak, the pilot scheme included 27 farms.

In 2013 the pilot ended due to budgetary constraints and the complexity of the administration of the scheme.

Since then, support payments towards maintaining habitats was limited to a number of specific habitats.

The environmental initiatives proposed under the new strategy is aimed to be open to all ’active farmers’, the department said, not just a select few.

The grant would also cover farms looking to undertake new farming methods, plus farmers wanting to obtain professional advice on how to develop and improve farming practices for the benefit of the environment.

All active farmers will be eligible to apply for funding from the new scheme.