Food and drink

Scottish Rural Action are recruiting volunteers to campaign on rural issues and facilitate workshops at the 2016 Scottish Rural Parliament event.

The Scottish Rural Parliament brings together people from communities and decision-makers from public bodies, NGOs and private bodies, with the aim of improving rural policy and finding better ways of providing services.

The installation of an artificial bowling green and a community hall refurbishment are the first two projects to benefit from funding from the Orkney LEADER 2014-2020 Programme.

The Kirkwall Bowling Club will install an artificial outdoor bowling green which will allow assurances of play irrespective of the weather, extending the playing season and increasing the opportunity for members and non-members to use the facility.

Book your place at the free 'Connecting communities in rural Lanarkshire' conference to find out more about Lanarkshire LEADER.

The new £4 million Lanarkshire LEADER programme will be launched at the event in Carluke on 1 September.

It will also be a chance to find out more about the priorities and objectives against which applications for funding will be assessed.

There will be three interactive workshops and a chance learn about successful projects from the previous programme.

Connecting communities in rural Lanarkshire

The main aim of the conference is to launch the new Lanarkshire LEADER Programme and advise on the priorities and objectives against which applications for funding will be assessed. The Programme has £4million of support available and runs until 2020.

They event will again be showcasing some of the projects that have been supported through the previous LEADER programme. There will also be three interactive workshops on topics. While details are still being finalised these will include:

The search is on for Britain's best high streets and high street heroes.

The Great British High Street Awards 2016 are now open for entries, with categories including 'Village', 'Coastal Community' and 'Small Market Town'.

This year also sees the introduction of the 'Rising Star' award for high streets that are taking their first steps turning around their fortunes.

Comrie Community Orchard
Name of organisation/business: 
Comrie Development Trust
Funding: 
Rural Tayside LEADER - £9,500 (39.3% of project)
Organic wheat supply chain feasibility project
Name of organisation/business: 
Breadshare
Funding: 
Scottish Borders LEADER (£12,839) and Breadshare

Women in Agriculture

Women in Agriculture has drawn together a collective of organisations - RHASS, Royal Bank of Scotland, SAOS, Scottish Woodlands, SAYFC and NFUS - to support women across Rural Scotland to :

  • Share experiences of land based industries and rural Scotland
  • Seek advice, support and skills based learning
  • Access networking and peer group support

There will be a panel of guests, chaired by Professor Sally Shortall, including Mel Ivine from the TV show This Farming Life.

A new European publication focussing on 'Smart and Competitive Food and Drink Supply Chains' is now available online.

The European Network for Rural Development's (ENRD) EU Rural Review 22 looks at opportunities to improve the competitiveness of primary producers by better integrating them into the agri-food supply chain.

The publication includes examples of initiatives from across Europe including Scotland's Chocolate Trail and accessible public food contracts in East Ayrshire. 

Registration is now open for the Scottish Rural Parliament 2016 event.

The Scottish Rural Parliament will bring together 400 people to discuss the issues of greatest importance to rural communities in Scotland.

The event will be held in Brechin, Angus from 6 to 8 October and is free for most people to attend.

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