New £46m initiative to support food producers in Northern Ireland

Developed by Invest Northen Ireland (NI), the Agri-Food Investment Initiative (AFII) was designed to improve overall competitiveness and productivity of the agri-food and drink processing sector in the country.

Financial assistance is available for transformative capital investment in several key areas, including machinery and equipment, buying or developing computer software and buying patents, licenses, copyrights and trademarks.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme, economy minister Conor Murphy said: “Agri-Food processing makes a significant contribution to local communities throughout the region, and especially to rural communities. ​

Promoting regional balance

“By targeting support to this sector, this scheme will promote regional balance. The capital investment will help companies adopt greener technologies, and so contribute to our net zero targets. Importantly, the scheme also aims to increase the sector’s productivity.”​

The minister also visited Lurgan-based Classic Mineral Water, a business that has heavily invested in new production equipment to improve productivity and as grown employment and sales as a result.

Liam Duffy, chief executive and owner of Classic Mineral Water said: “Investing in your business is essential if you are to ensure continued success. Since taking ownership of Classic Mineral Water, I have made multimillion-pound investments in new machinery, process improvements and innovation.​

“Access to support through an initiative like this will significantly help a business like mine continue to make capital investments in new technologies.”​

Meeting the criteria

AFII is open to all Invest NI clients and new clients operating within the food and drink industry. Businesses who aren’t currently Invest NI clients must demonstrate they meet Invest NI’s criteria, after which they can be on-boarded.

It should also be noted that the initiative will only accepts applications from the bakery, drinks and cold store businesses if they are from SMEs. Egg processors cannot apply.

Invest NI chief executive Kieran Donoghue added: “We are particularly seeking projects which are innovative and demonstrate how they will improve the productivity and sustainability of the business.​

“As well as providing efficiency and productivity benefits directly to the business, we also expect investments through this Initiative to have a positive impact on the agri-food supply chain across rural areas.”​

Full details on eligibility, the support available and how to apply are available at Invest NI’s website.​ ​