Rural Payments and Services

A new support service has been launched to help farming and forestry businesses to better innovate through collaboration.

The Rural Innovation Support Service will stimulate collaborative innovation with the aim of strengthening links between farmers and the rest of the food and drink supply chain.

The service will be led by the Soil Association who will work alongside SAOS, Scotland Food & Drink and SAC Consulting to ensure that all those involved in the food and drink and forestry supply chains are connected in a way which is accessible and useful to rural businesses.

Launching the service ahead of delivering the keynote speech at the NFUS AGM, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said:

“Innovation is key to transforming our productivity as a country and is one of the four economic priorities of this Government.

"Our rural businesses are blessed with the skills, expertise and potential to drive our economy forward. All they need is the right support at the right time, delivered in the right way.

“That is why I am delighted to be able to announce the launch of a new Rural Innovation Support Service, which will nurture the talent within our farming, food and forestry business, and accelerate the uptake of new technologies, new business models, and new forms of cooperation to improve productivity, sustainability and ultimately profitability.”