Without a doubt, current reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a move from overproduction towards long overdue economy. Reform of the CAP has shifted the emphasis from maximising farm production at all costs, to incorporation of environmental land management and diversification into other rural activities on and off the farm. Consequently, reduced price guarantees for food production mean that farmers can no longer rely on a secure market for their produce and this has motivated many farming families to look at new ways of generating income from outside their mainstream agricultural activity.

To a farmer, land conveys strong social, cultural and spiritual meaning. Yet it is also his greatest economic asset and market commodity, which can be used to supplement income from farming. Innovative and economically sound projects can create new sources of income for farmers while enhancing the range of facilities available in countryside for tourists and locals alike.

Besides, financial help from the Government is at hand for new business enterprises, as it recognises that farm diversification is a means for farmers to widen and strengthen the economic base of their businesses and contribute to a more diversified rural economy.

To date, in Scotland alone, hundreds of diversification projects have benefited from funding distributed through the Farm Business and Agricultural Business Development Schemes.