Rural Payments and Services

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The scheme is open to farmers, groups of farmers and other land managers with land in Scotland who are registered with us and have a Business Reference Number (BRN).

You can find out how to register here

You must be able to demonstrate that you are able, and have the legal right, to carry out the projects to be funded on the land included in your application for the length of the contract and any associated monitoring period.

Not all the categories of applicants referred to will be eligible to apply for all options or activities under the scheme. For example, applications for the Organic Conversion and Organic Maintenance options are only open to farmers and crofters.

Separate eligibility requirements will also apply to applications for the Improving Public Access option.

You should therefore refer to the specific eligibility requirements found in the individual management options and capital item sections of the guidance.

Check options and items

The questions case officers have to answer, to check the applicant’s eligibility to apply to the scheme, is provided here.

Collaborative applications are encouraged as it is recognised that co-ordinated activity between land managers can enhance environmental objectives providing beneficial environmental management at a larger ecological scale.

Therefore collaborative applications will be viewed on favourably if you can demonstrate the proposed collaboration:

• adds value, enhancing environmental objectives, creating contiguous and complementary management and improving habitat connectivity
• involves the sharing of resources (e.g. staff time and machinery)
• contributes to a strategic environmental management plan or Environmental Co-operation Action Fund project (see below)
• involves an existing group of land managers with a track record of working together

If you intend to participate in a collaborative application you should apply individually online for the work to be undertaken on your land rather than the entire work covered by the collaboration.

You will be asked to provide the Business Registration Numbers of all the other applicants forming part of the collaboration and outline the details of the collaborative proposals as part of your application.

If you consider that your collaborative project requires a project officer to facilitate the co-operative activity, you can apply to the Environmental Co-operation Action Fund (ECAF).

Environmental Co-operation Action Fund

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