§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what help and advice is available in the south west region for farmers who wish to diversify their activities; and what financial assistance is in place to support these activities. [116441]
§ Alun MichaelDefra provides grants for farm diversification projects under the Rural Enterprise Scheme, which forms part of the England Rural Development Programme. Similar arrangements apply in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and other Objctive I areas through the separate Objective I programme. The Department also offers assistance in the form of free planning consultancy advice to farmers who intend to pursue an eligible diversification project through the Rural Enterprise Scheme or Objective I programme.
The Department is also considering how to improve the provision of help and informationto farmers considering diversification of their business base. The Farm Business Advice Service, which remains available until March 2004, provides up to three days of freeadvice based around a business healthcheck and results in a business action plan. The service can help farmers decide whether or not to diversify and will direct them to other sources of support to help them see the action plan through. In addition, the delivery plan for the Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food in the South West includes projects designed to help farms develop additional activities and to boost the skills needed to support this.
The support provided to farmers in the South West mirrors that provided elsewhere in England.