An initiative in rural New South Wales will support local farmers to improve the agricultural health of their property, while also tackling climate change – through the recently extended Small Grants Program.
Tweed Shire Council will offer grants of up to $4,000 toward eligible activities that trial or lead to the adoption of improved farming practices, with applications accepted until 30 August.
The program was initiated in 2018 and was recently extended for another three years until 2025.
Tweed Shire Council’s Program Leader – Sustainable Agriculture, Eli Szandala, said it was great news to see this valuable program continuing for another three years in the Tweed.
“We know that good farming practice is essential for maintaining the viability of our family farms and protecting our unique biodiversity in the Tweed. The future of farming is also critical right now for food security and affordability,” Mr Szandala said.
“We know that good farming practice is essential for maintaining the viability of our family farms and protecting our unique biodiversity in the Tweed. The future of farming is also critical right now for food security and affordability,” Mr Szandala said.
“Local and world events over the last few years have really highlighted how important sustainable local food production is for community wellbeing, but also for the environment, employment and the local economy.”
Previous grant recipients have initiated projects such as rotational grazing systems and multi-species pasture cropping to regenerate grazing land.
Other projects have involved excluding cattle from creeks and the use of biological controls in vegetable production to reduce the reliance on chemicals.
“We are particularly interested in supporting projects that have lasting environmental benefits and to help farmers better prepare for the ever-increasing climate disruptions,” Mr Szandala said.
A recipient of a previous grant, Dr Victor Pires is a horticultural producer and syntropic farmer from Uki who used the funding to regenerate a lantana-infested area into a productive food forest.
Dr Pires was able to integrate native tree species into his farming for production and biodiversity benefits, which was extremely successful.
“The grant helped me trial a new way of farming. I was able to implement syntropic farming practices to regenerate weedy areas to grow food and native vegetation with minimal to no herbicide. It required relatively low inputs other than some hard work,” Dr Pires said.
Syntropics is an unconventional method of farming that utilises natural processes for productivity rather than relying on artificial inputs like chemicals and fertilisers. The method involves using a diversity of plant species to maximise photosynthesis and organic matter cycling.
The Sustainable Agriculture Small Grants Program is one way the Council is working with the community to minimise its impact on the environment, protect and improve the health of its land, waterways and native wildlife and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
