The fund, managed by the Ministry for Primary Industries, will pay for recovery advisory services of up to $5,000 (excluding GST) for selected applications in drought-affected regions.
National FarmWise® Manager, Edward Hardie says the fund is a very good package from MPI that directly targets drought impacted farmers.
“The fund will go a long way to helping those that receive it to set their farms up to be more resilient going forward and help them recover from the drought that has occurred this year. FarmWise® is a pre-approved service provider for this grant and we encourage farmers to apply as soon practical so we can best support them with effective use of the grant.”
To be eligible for this fund:
- The farm is located in one of the 2020 drought affected regions or districts (all of the North Island; the Chatham Islands, Christchurch, Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman, Selwyn, Kaikoura and Waimakariri districts and regions)
- The business has been negatively affected by the 2020 drought
- 50% of the farmer’s income, in a normal year, is earned from this farming business.
Funding can be used for a range of advisory services and drought-related advice, like:
- Strategic planning and the development of farm business plans
- Practical, on-the-ground advice and support like land management and sustainable management techniques
- Technical advice on soil and pastures, animal production, and feed budgeting.
All these services are offered by LIC FarmWise® consultants and farmers simply need to reference FarmWise® as a supplier when filling in MPI’s grant form.
The fund is open for applications between 11 May and 12 June 2020. Following the close of the fund, eligible applications that meet the criteria will be drawn until all funding has been committed. Successful applicants will be advised on 22 June 2020.
Application form for Farmers
For further information and to apply, download the Drought Recovery Advice Fund application form on the MPI website.
