The Scotitsh Crofting Federation (SCF) has secured £20,000 funding to run training courses for producers in remote areas.
The funding was awarded to the crofters body by The Prince of Wales’ rural charity The Prince’s Country Fund, which has awarded £410,000 to Scottish project since its inception six years ago.
SCF projects manager Maria Sholton said: “This fantastic grant will help us to offer diversification training to small-scale producers in very remote areas of Scotland.
“The main stumble for our crofters is infrastructure and travelling for courses is prohibitively expensive. So with this grant, we will bring the courses to them.
“Expert butchers and charcuterie makers will train groups of crofters, helping them to add value to their produce and be able to sell locally. This is very strengthening for the local economy, and also serves as an exciting meeting place for crofters to share ideas and to network.”
Prince’s Countryside Fund director Claire Saunders said: “The big challenge for crofting is the need to attract more new entrants and young people.
“It is vital that everyone with an interest in crofting works together to achieve this, to safeguard the future of crofting and ensure it thrives in the years to come.”
