New £500,000 fund backs Scotland’s small food producers

The Scottish government has launched a £500,000 pilot fund for small food producers in 2025-26, aiming to boost rural supply chains, innovation and productivity across Scotland’s farming and crofting regions.

The Small Producers Pilot Fund will be delivered by South of Scotland Enterprise (Sose) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

It will offer support to organisations and businesses working with small producers across the Highlands and Islands, the Scottish Enterprise region and wider rural areas.

See also: Farmstrong Scotland hits funding milestone

The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) welcomed the announcement.

Chief executive Donna Smith said: “We welcome the capital funding made available for organisations based in the Highlands and Islands that work with groups of small food producers.

“It is a step in the right direction and something that SCF, along with other organisations, has been campaigning for, for a long time.

“We hope that this marks the start of wider efforts to genuinely transform our food system to further enable crofters to produce and sell more food locally.”

Scotland’s agriculture minister, Jim Fairlie, said: “Small producers matter, they play a vital role in delivering for nature, climate, thriving communities, and sustainable food production.”

The fund includes £175,000 for the HIE region and £325,000 for the Sose-managed region.

Expressions of interest must be submitted by 12pm on 9 January 2026, with funding to be spent by March 2026.