The Scottish Government has announced a fund to support abattoirs and small food producers. Over £180,000 has been allocated for a range of new support through a new government pilot to help them become more sustainable.

The Small Producers Pilot Fund will specifically target small producers and crofters with an aspiration to establish more localised supply chains and cut food miles.

The funding will be used to:

• support two small-scale abattoir projects

• establish a new information resource webpage for small producers

• develop a framework to assess small producers' data

• procure a service to deliver training courses for small producers

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said “The Small Producers Pilot Fund will help small producers grow their businesses and facilitate the growth of a more diverse and resilient food and drink industry.

“This pilot marks the start of our wider efforts to help small producers move to more green and sustainable production methods.

“The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting small producers and empowering them to play a key role in making our Vision for Agriculture a reality."

Flora Corbett chair of Mull Abattoir said: “This is a great step forward by the Scottish Government in acknowledging and recognise the importance of our small, rural abattoirs - this money will allow us to move forward with several projects which will in turn help more small producers promote their produce.”

It is hoped the money can be used to boost the number of abattoirs providing private kill facilities. A recent meeting of the Small Producers Pilot Fund Steering Group stated that there used to be around 11 abattoirs handling private kill in the Highlands and Islands area and now there are only three. They also noted that the price of private kill has also trebled in the last three years.