Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up (window 3): rules booklet [HTML]

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Introduction: supporting the rural economy and the transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme

The Programme for Government sets out our commitments to continue supporting farmers to produce food in a sustainable way, whilst taking action to respond to the climate emergency and to help reverse the decline in biodiversity. Funding support for farmers, land managers and associated rural sectors is delivered through a flexible framework of support, with schemes – including the Small Grants - Horticultural Start Up Scheme - delivering towards the following themes:

farm scale land management
on farm environmental improvements
on farm efficiency and diversification
landscape scale land management
woodland and forestry
food and farming supply chains

The framework is designed to support action in response to the challenges and opportunities available and to inform the continuing development of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which will reward farmers for the work they do now to lower their carbon footprint, improve the environment and produce food in a sustainable way.

Further information on the themes and schemes being developed are available at: Rural Affairs Wales (on businesswales.gov.wales).

Section A: introduction

These guidance notes explain the Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up Scheme and the type of projects that may qualify for grant aid. Please read it carefully. If you then consider your investment plans may qualify for support under this scheme, please see ‘How to Apply’ at section C and the How to Complete booklet.

The Application window will open on 4 November 2024 and close on 10 January 2025.

The indicative budget allocation for this application window is £100,000.

The grant available for each applicant is £3,000.

The Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up Scheme is designed to support entry into the horticulture sector in Wales by encouraging the establishment of new commercial horticulture enterprises, either as a diversification within an existing agricultural business, or as stand-alone new enterprises.

In doing so, it will help to deliver our ambition for a more prosperous, green and equal Wales. Funding will encourage the use of new and emerging technology, provide opportunities to create a diversified income stream for existing Welsh farm businesses, establish new rural enterprises and create employment opportunities.

The Small Grant - Horticulture Start Up Scheme is available to individuals or businesses who wish to enter the commercial horticultural sector. The aims of the scheme are to:

encourage the establishment of new commercial horticultural enterprises by offering seed funding in the form of a grant
partially mitigate the financial risk of investing in a new enterprise
attract more individuals to enter the sector
encourage the use of new and emerging technology within horticultural businesses
create a diversified income stream for existing Welsh farm businesses
establish new rural enterprises, which can create employment, opportunities for growth and sustainable local food production
respond to the Wales Community Food Strategy and encourage the supply of locally sourced food in Wales

Scheme requirements

On completion of the project, the supported individual / business must have completed all of the following:

established a new horticultural business or new horticultural enterprise as part of an established business
grown a horticultural crop or crops on a commercial scale
developed a route to market for the horticultural crop
achieved sales income from selling the crop to a new market. However, for enterprises that have planted permanent crops that do not yield in the planting year, no income sales would be demonstrated
developed knowledge and intelligence on growing, harvesting, storage, packaging, marketing and distribution
engaged in relevant skills development (both technical and business development). A minimum of 2 activities
reviewed the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the enterprise and developed appropriate strategies to develop the business
established future capital and resources requirements to develop the enterprise into a sustainable business
developed a minimum three-year business plan with a timeline to develop the initial enterprise to a commercial venture (or alternative options if the initial enterprise did not achieve the desired outcomes)

Section B: Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up eligibility

You are eligible to apply if:

you intend to establish a new commercial horticultural enterprise. (Horticultural crops are edible fruit, vegetable, ornamental plants, flowers and trees. The establishment of a tree nursey enterprise is eligible)
you are registered with RPW Online and have been issued with a Customer Reference Number (CRN)

You are not eligible if:

you have already established a horticulture business, regardless of whether any invoiced sales have been generated or not
you are an existing producer of commercial horticulture crops
you are an owner, partner or shareholder with an active role in an existing business with a horticultural interest
you do not intend to produce crops to be sold commercially
you do not intend to grow crops at sufficient scale to show intent that the enterprise is a development of a sustainable commercial venture
you intend to grow crops within a domestic setting, such as a domestic glass house or garden, or the crops are intended for your own consumption

This includes the growing of any horticultural crop used for commercial purposes, including sale to a third party or for use within an existing commercial activity.

Scheme eligibility queries can be sent to Horticulture@gov.wales.

Eligible costs

The start-up grant is awarded to support investments which facilitate the establishment of a commercial horticulture enterprise. The grant can be used to fund capital investments, or as revenue support to fund the following examples of expenditure:

purchase of specific equipment and technology for horticultural production
seeds, plants, etc
harvesting and storage systems
branding, social media content or website development
marketing and/or advertising costs
environmental monitoring or quality control equipment
rental costs
contracting costs

Second hand equipment is eligible where the applicant can demonstrate the following:

it complies with current health and safety legislation
it is fit for purpose.
it has at least five years life expectancy remaining

Ineligible costs

Investments in the following will not be eligible for grant aid:

purchase of land
purchase of motor vehicles
purchase of vehicles including tractors or telehandlers
purchase of permanent buildings
items purchased prior to the offer of a Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up grant award
items required to meet statutory requirements, e.g. health and safety equipment
maintenance or refurbishment costs of existing equipment
general office equipment and furniture
own labour costs
investment in capital items with capacity that exceeds the requirements of the enterprise e.g. the purchase of cultivation equipment that exceeds the requirement of the enterprise

The funding is conditional on the successful delivery of all essential outcomes, listed in Section A.

Selecting successful projects

Each application will be assessed on its potential value to the rural economy, how the application responds to the scheme objectives and the potential for the longer-term sustainability of the business.

The application and selection process will confirm all the eligibility criteria have been satisfactorily met.

Key requirements

The delivery of the project under this grant award must be completed within 12 months of the grant award letter issue date.

The project would not proceed without grant assistance.

Section C: applying for the Horticulture Start Up Scheme

Submitting an application

RPW Online

You can only submit an application for the Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme by accessing Rural Payments Wales (RPW) Online. If you already have a Customer Reference Number (CRN) you should have received a letter informing you of your activation code to set up your account. If you no longer have this, please telephone the RPW Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004 (1 March to 28 April 2023 (excluding Bank Holidays) Monday to Friday 9:00 to 16:00 and 2 to 15 May 2023 Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 17:00 and Friday 9:00 to 16:00) and tell the operator your CRN. They will send you a new activation code.

To register your business details for the first time, you need to complete the online registration form. Please refer to the how to register guidance for further details. The vast majority of changes to business details can be done online. However, we may require further details on any major changes. Please contact the Customer Contact Centre for further information.

Once registered, you can access your RPW Online account. The Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up Scheme application is available from the “Applications and Claims” section of your account.

Agents acting on behalf of a client will need to register as a Rural Payments Wales agent. If you have yet to do this, you are advised to complete an online or paper copy Agent / Farming Union Customer Details (Wales) form immediately. Upon receipt of the form, we will send you an Agent Customer Reference Number (Agent CRN) and an RPW Online activation code. You will also need to complete an Association Authorisation Form, which can be completed once you register with RPW Online, please refer to our how to register guidance.

If you have any questions about registering for RPW Online or completing your EoI and/or full application, please contact the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004. They will be able to provide advice, including the digital assistance that is available to you.

Further details regarding RPW Online are available on the our website.

Completing the application

Guidance on how to submit your application via RPW Online is available on our website.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is correctly completed and that the information provided in support of your project is accurate.

You must complete the application in full and provide all the documentation as detailed below in support of the application.

We will issue a maximum of 2 reminders for applications in draft via your RPW Online account prior to the closing date.

Supporting documentation

In support of your application, you must submit the following documents, (as evidence for questions 1,2 and 3) where applicable, by the closing date of the application window.

copy of relevant certificates of qualifications
evidence of CPD activity undertaken between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2024

Section D: the two stage application process

The assessment process will be in two stages. Applications submitted will be in direct competition with one another. At stage 1, the following sections of the application will be assessed and scored against selection criteria:

strategic fit
knowledge and experience
suitability of investment / activity

The applications that score the highest will be selected in ranked order until the funds available in that round have been allocated.

You will be notified whether or not your application has been selected through your RPW online account.

If selected, the application will progress to stage 2 and the following sections will be assessed to complete the full appraisal of the application.

resources
product sales and marketing
long term sustainability
finance and delivery
risk and risk management
cross cutting themes

Stage 1: assessment for selection

For stage 1 appraisal of the Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up Scheme all applications will be assessed against a set of selection criteria and scored using a scoring scale of 0 to 4, then multiplied by the associated weighting factor to give a total score.

The applications will be ranked in order of merit. Projects will be selected in ranked order until either the funds available have been allocated or the maximum number of applications has been reached. There is no guarantee that all of the funds will be allocated or that the maximum number of projects will be selected for stage 2 of the process.

Details of the selection criteria are set out below.

Business / project plan section to be assessed

strategic fit: score 0 to 4 multiplied by weighting factor 5
knowledge and experience: score 0 to 4 multiplied by weighting factor 4
suitability of investment / activity: score 0 to 4 multiplied by weighting factor 3

No application will progress which scores less than the minimum quality threshold of 24. A score of 1 or 0 (zero) in any of the selection criteria will prevent the application from being considered for selection for stage 2 of the process.

For each section, the assessment will be made on the basis of the information and explanations given.

Higher scores will be achieved by providing comprehensive explanations supported by examples of proposed activities and details of how those activities will be managed.

Lower scores will be awarded where explanations are simply statements of intent, for example, “we will hold meetings with stakeholders on a regular basis throughout the project”.

Stage 1: assessment for selection questions

Strategic fit

For a project to meet the scheme strategic fit, you will need to provide details around type of horticulture enterprise you wish to establish, any continued professional development (CPD) and the proposed structure of the enterprise and any qualifications that you hold.

Examples of the type of qualifications are: a qualification in horticulture, agriculture or related subject. (Related subject could include crop science, marketing, food safety, business studies etc.).

You must submit the following documents, where applicable, by the closing date of this application.

copy of certificates of qualifications
evidence of CPD activity undertaken between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2024

Knowledge and experience

For a project to meet the Knowledge and Experience requirement, you should provide details about your current knowledge and experience.

Experience does not have to be within the horticulture sector and can include wider experience, such as staff management, sales etc. You could establish the enterprise on a part time basis while maintaining employment elsewhere, however, you will need to detail how you will manage the activity and deal with conflicting priorities.

Suitability of investment / activity

For a project to meet the Suitability of investment/Activity requirements, you will need to provide details of why you want to establish the business including how this will be a viable enterprise.

You will need to confirm crops and area you intend to grow in the first year. It is expected that you have a clear plan to implement.

There are three possible outcomes from the stage 1 appraisal:

your application is not eligible for the grant
your application is not selected for stage 2 assessment of the application
your application is successful at stage 1 for selection and will proceed to full appraisal

If you are not selected, but your application meets the minimum threshold, we will inform you via your RPW on-line account that you have not been selected but your application will be held in reserve.

Successful stage 1 selection

If your application is selected, you will be notified via your RPW Online account. If you do not wish for your application to progress to stage 2 of the appraisal process, you must confirm this in writing to us via your online account within 7 days of the date the selection letter was issued. If you do notify us that you do not want the application to progress to stage 2 appraisal, your application will be withdrawn.

If you wish to accept the selection, no further action is required at this point and your application will automatically progress to stage 2 of the appraisal process.

The selection letter does not allow you to start work on the project. You must not start any work until you receive a grant award offer via your RPW Online account. Any projects which breach this rule will not be considered for support.

If your application does not meet the scheme eligibility criteria or not selected, you will be notified via your online account.

Stage 2: full appraisal of the application following selection

If selected, the application will progress to stage 2 and the following sections will be assessed to complete the appraisal of the application and consideration of offer of a grant.

resources
product sales and marketing
long term sustainability
finance and delivery
risk and risk management
cross cutting themes

The application will be appraised in accordance with the scheme guidance and eligibility rules. They will be subject to full due diligence (where required), appraisal and eligibility checks and only at that point will a final decision be taken to offer a grant or reject the application. There is no guarantee that a project proposal will be approved for a grant. We will aim to complete the appraisal of the application within 90 days of the window closing. Appraisal of complex applications may take longer. If you delay replying to requests for further information this will extend the time taken to complete appraisal of your application.

The application questions for stage 2 are:

Resources

You will need to provide a description of the resources available to you and their scale (e.g. area of land, size of polytunnel etc).

Where appropriate you must detail what agreement you have for their use i.e owned, rented, intend to purchase etc.

For equipment, if you do not have machinery and equipment available to you, or have to purchase all machinery, please provide details as to how you intend to undertake the activity.

Product sales and marketing

You must provide details of your proposed market for the produce, detailing any market research undertaken and any known impacts on other producers.

If you propose to sell outside your local area or have an agreement with a customer, your application would achieve a higher score.

Long term sustainability

Resource efficiency is crucial in order to help achieve a Well-being economy, as well as reducing emissions. You are encouraged to consider how your plans will impact on the environment and to what effect they will have on climate change.

Activity resulting in improvements in water quality, the use of water, soil and air quality will result in a higher score than those that do not.

Finance and delivery

You must provide details about the investment proposal and project plan with timescales in establishing your horticultural enterprise. You must also provide an explanation as to why the grant support is required.

Higher scores will be achieved by providing detailed investment proposals along with a detailed plan and timescales and also by having detailed full use of the proposed grant.

Risk and risk management

Recognising that there will be some risks to a project, no matter how unlikely, it is important to identify potential risks to assist you to manage the project.

You must give details of the key risks that might affect the delivery of the Project:

You will need to make at least 5 entries.

Targets and outcomes

You will need to provide the targets and outcomes you aim to achieve during the first 12 months of your enterprise. The targets are as follow:

area of crop / crops grown
number of customers targeted
value of sales

It is expected that the targets you provide are reasonable and sufficiently ambitions for a start-up business. Growing a very small area of crop and targeting one customer would result in a low score.

Cross cutting themes

How will the investment contribute to the following cross cutting themes? You are required to respond to the three cross cutting themes, explaining how your proposed enterprise will contribute their mainstreaming:

equality of opportunity and gender mainstreaming
tackling poverty and social exclusion
Welsh language

Stage 2: assessment scoring

For the stage 2 appraisal the information provided in the remaining 6 sections will be assessed against the following rating criteria from which a decision can be taken about the award of grant assistance to the project:

high: the applicant has provided robust and detailed responses against all of the evidence requirements
medium: the applicant has provided satisfactory and detailed responses against most of the evidence requirements
low: the applicant has provided potentially incomplete or insufficient responses against one or more of the evidence requirements

The quality threshold is a rating of medium across all nine categories. If the application does not meet this requirement ,you may be requested to provide further information. If a satisfactory rating cannot be achieved the project will be rejected.

Please note that if further information is required this may delay the appraisal of the application so we recommend you follow the guidance carefully in order to provide the information requested.

There are two possible outcomes from Stage 2 appraisal:

your project is ineligible and is not approved for an award. You will be informed of the reasons why your application was not successful via your RPW Online account. You may apply again with the same project should further application windows be made available, (amending the application if you wish) but only if you have not started a horticultural business
your project is eligible and is approved for an award. A grant award letter will be issued to you setting out the terms and conditions of the award via your RPW Online account which you will be asked to accept within 30 days as agreement that you accept the terms and conditions therein. The grant award letter will also provide you with the authority to start work. You will need to accept or decline the offer of grant award within 30 days. Failure to accept the grant award offer within 30 days. Failure to accept the grant award within 30 days will lead to the grant award offer being withdrawn.

We will issue a reminder via your RPW Online account prior to the acceptance deadline date.

If you decide to withdraw from the grant award prior to completion or if you do not purchase all of the items approved in your grant award, you may not be able to apply for the Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme in the next round and maybe be required to repay any payments received.

You can withdraw your application at any time prior to grant award offer being awarded without it impacting on any future applications for the Small Grants – Horticulture Start Up Scheme.

Subject to the requirements of our Code of Practice on Public Access to Information, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004: all information given to us will be treated in strict confidence. You should be aware that if successful, we reserve the right to publish the name of your company, the amount of grant you were awarded and a summary of your project.

Planning permission

If your investment requires planning consent, for investments such as glasshouses, or polytunnels, the payment of any grant will not be made until planning approval documents have been submitted and verified by us. It is acceptable to submit this documentation up to and including when you submit your claim.

If the project has been considered by the planning authority not to require planning consent, you will need to provide evidence from the planning authority to confirm.

Sustainable drainage System (SuDS) Approving Body (SAB) approval

If your investment requires SAB approval, the payment of any grant will not be made until SAB approval documents have been submitted and verified by the Welsh Government.

For an overview of what requires SAB approval, see our Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS): guidance.

If the project has been considered by the local SAB not to require SuDS approval, you will need to provide evidence from the SAB to confirm this. While SAB approval is independent of planning permission, the evidence you submit will be assessed by the appraisal team in a manner consistent with its processes relating to planning consent.

Some applications for construction with drainage implications which require approval by the SAB may not require planning permission from the local planning authority (for example, permitted development less than 100 square metres). It should, therefore, not be assumed that the absence of a requirement for planning permission would negate the need for SAB approval.

all other consents, licences and permissions have been granted, where required
compliance with minimum standards and legislative requirements regarding the environment, hygiene, animal welfare and all relevant health and safety standards

Section E: conditions of grant

The Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme is subject to a range of relevant legislation (see Annex A). Welsh Government and the applicant / recipient must act in accordance with that legislation.

The offer of a Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme grant is made subject to terms and conditions, which will be set out in full in your grant award letter and include those set out below. The grant award will be for 12 months from the date the grant award letter is issued.

Failure to meet the terms and conditions of the grant award could result in the cancellation of your award and / or the recovery of sums already paid, or a reduction of the amount of grant payable.

Conditions

The award is made on the basis of statements and declarations made by you or your representatives in the application form and the claim form and any subsequent correspondence. The making of false or misleading statements is an offence. You must not begin any work on the project without first obtaining written authority to do so from Welsh Government. You must have bought the equipment and contacted RPW by the claim deadline within the grant award offer.

If you have not contacted RPW within that time, the grant offer will be automatically rejected.

You must meet any legal obligations imposed and UK law.

No alterations may be made to the project, including the location of the activity, without the written approval of Welsh Government.

Equipment purchased with grant aid may not be disposed of, transferred or sold during the project and for five years from the grant award letter end date, only with prior written consent of Welsh Government. Where any of these conditions are not met, the grant awarded will be recovered in full.

The applicant is required to comply with the rules on eligible costs, as detailed in the scheme guidance notes.

Projects should be completed within the timescale agreed with Welsh Government. You should not deviate from this without prior written agreement from Welsh Government.

Claims must be submitted via the RPW Online grants claim application along with all supporting documents, as required by the scheme.

Claims must be submitted in accordance with the timescale set out in the grant award Letter. You must not deviate from the agreed timing and value of your claim without prior written agreement from Welsh Government.

You must confirm none of the items covered by the application are replacements under an insurance claim.

You must provide confirmation no other public funding has been sought. If it is found you have received public funding from another source, your claim may be rejected and payments may be recovered.

Records concerning the application and claim for this grant, including all original invoices and any other related documents, must be retained for at least seven years after the project end date.

You must allow representatives of Welsh Government, the Auditor General for Wales or their representatives to inspect the project. On request, you must provide them with information and / or access to original documentation in relation to the project.

The information provided in the application and any supporting documentation is subject to the requirements of Welsh Government’s Code of Practice on Public Access to Information, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

You should be aware, if successful, Welsh Government reserve the right to publish the name of your business or company, the amount of grant you were awarded and a summary of your project.

The information provided in the application is subject to the Privacy Notice. The Privacy Notice explains Welsh Government’s processing and use of your personal data and your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Section F: payments

Claims

The Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme is only available to claim using the Grants Claim page on your RPW Online account; payments will be made following the successful validation of your claim. Claims will only be paid when the Welsh Government is satisfied the outcomes have been met and the work has been completed according to plan. Payment will be made by electronic transfer to your bank account.

To receive payments, you must:

have accepted a Small Grants - Horticulture Start Up Scheme grant award within 30 calendar days of the offer date and adhere to all the requirements
ensure you have only purchased items relating to your grant award after you have accepted the grant award offer
ensure all items purchased with support are on the premises at the time you submit your claim
submit the claim using the grant claim page on your RPW Online account by the claim deadline in your grant award letter
we will issue a maximum of 2 reminders for any outstanding claims via your RPW Online account prior to the claim deadline
submit evidence all the outcomes have been achieved
submit evidence of planning permission and SuDS approval if required

A claim is not considered valid unless it has been submitted via the grant claim form and until all supporting documentation has been submitted.

We will confirm to you when the grant claim form is available. You can submit your claim at any time once the investment has been completed and outcomes achieved.

Supporting documentation at claim

The following are examples of evidence to demonstrate you have achieved all of the outcomes:

Outcome

Established a new horticultural business or new horticultural enterprise as part of an established business

Supporting evidence required

geo-tagged photograph of purchased capital items
geo-tagged photograph of crop/crops being grown (e.g. sowing, growing, harvesting). The area grown needs to reflect the proposed area submitted in the application
copies of purchase invoices
copies of sales invoices (where applicable)

Grown a horticultural crop or crops on a commercial / semi-commercial scale

Supporting evidence required

geo-tagged photograph of purchased capital items
geo-tagged photograph of crop/crops being grown (e.g. sowing, growing, harvesting). The area grown needs to reflect the proposed area submitted in the application
copies of purchase invoices
copies of sales invoices (where applicable)