Scottish Rural Development Programme 2014-2020: ex-post evaluation - annex A scheme summary report

6. Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation

Scheme description

The Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) scheme largely provided grant funding for food and drink processing businesses to undertake capital projects such as processing facilities and equipment. The scheme also provided access to revenue funding, including for:

• marketing projects – for example, trade shows and branding.
• cooperative activity – for example, between food and drink producers and manufacturers and third parties such as retailers, research community, hospitality, and food service sector.
• efficiency initiatives.

Public expenditure

The FPMC was programmed to contribute to Priority 3 (Promoting food chain organisation, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in agriculture), and to FA 3A.

A summary of the public expenditure achieved by the FPMC is provided in Table 6.1. Under the SRDP 2014-2020 final co-financed payments were made to FPMC scheme beneficiaries in 2023.

Source: Scottish Government, Annual Implementation Report 2023.

The scheme also contributed to Priority 1 (Fostering knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural areas) and to FA 1A (Fostering innovation, cooperation, and the development of the knowledge base in rural areas), and FA 1B (Strengthening the links between agriculture, food production and forestry and research and innovation).

Performance indicators

A summary of the outcomes achieved by the FPMC is provided in Table 6.2.

Source: Scottish Government, Annual Implementation Report 2023.

Scheme evaluation

An internal evaluation of the FPMC (September 2019) was undertaken by the SG RESAS. The evaluation:

• assessed applicants’ and experts’ experiences of application and assessment procedures.
• assessed how the applicants’ projects adhered to the objective of the scheme and those of the SG.

The FPMC evaluation comprised a mixed-methods approach including analysis of recorded project data alongside stakeholder surveys and interviews. Most of the projects were ongoing at the time of the evaluation and findings were indicative not absolute.

Scotland Food and Drink (SFD) was asked by the SG to undertake a further review of the FPMC during 2023. The purpose of this review was to:

• gather, evaluate, and report on the views of key stakeholders as to the effectiveness of the current FPMC scheme in meeting its objectives and the needs of industry.
• provide mainly short-term but also longer-term recommendations as to how the scheme could be improved so that it is better able to meet the needs of stakeholders.
• develop a high-level implementation plan to take forward the review’s recommendations.

The SFD review involved a desk-based review, 18 interviews with businesses of different sizes, support organisations and stakeholders, and an industry online survey (95 responses).

While the final review report (August 2023) is not a published document some findings are touched upon below.

What worked well and/or less well

Aspects of the FPMC scheme that worked well included that:

• there was widespread support for the existence of the FPMC grant scheme among those consulted as part of the scheme evaluation – in particular it was perceived to fulfil a unique and important purpose in supporting capital projects undertaken by food and drink processing businesses.
• the FPMC was successful in supporting projects located throughout Scotland although the majority were located in the central belt and to the East of mainland Scotland (this is to be expected as this is where Scotland’s main population and business centres are).
• the FPMC supported a diverse range of projects by sub-sector, with fruit and vegetable most common, followed by meat and alcohol – other sub-sectors supported included cereal, dairy, and eggs.
• the FPMC’s increasing popularity among new and repeat applicants across all sectors, sizes and locations within Scotland was considered testament to its overall effectiveness.
• most applicants were satisfied with the overall application process.

Some points relating to what worked less well include that:

• interest and demand among food and drink processing businesses for revenue support was limited, including for collaborative and cooperative activity.
• while a high proportion of businesses benefitted from multiple FPMC awards over several funding rounds - successful applicants were also more likely to have used an agent to help them in their application.
• while most applicants were satisfied with the overall application process, there were various suggestions for improvement – for example, better and more transparent guidance, more flexibility, targeted support for smaller businesses, and revision of the current rules preventing projects from beginning before the application outcome is confirmed.
• there was broad agreement that the scheme would benefit from revising how it treats businesses of different size in order to better support smaller businesses.
• stakeholders and experts expressed concern about the use of agents to assist with application forms, and this was perceived as inequitable especially for smaller businesses that were less able to afford agents’ fees (and may be disadvantaged) – this issue is not unique to the FPMC, and a similar concern was raised in other SRDP scheme evaluations.

The main recommendations from the SFD review report for the FPMC include that:

• the scheme’s purpose, eligibility and criteria should be simplified, and communicated clearly.
• the application and assessment processes should be simplified and aligned.
• smaller projects (below £100,000) should be easier to apply for and assess.
• the three quotes requirement for proposed works can be challenging and could be reduced.
• the scheme should enable both ‘automation’ projects and those which support job creation.
• all projects should be required to complete an ‘Impact Report’ within 12 months showing whether the projected impacts were achieved.
• scheme timings should be adjusted to be more flexible, perhaps allowing applications prior to the scheme’s launch to enable more time to deliver projects.

Current status of the scheme

When SRDP financial resources were exhausted the FPMC continued to invite new applications and was solely funded by SG as a legacy SRDP domestic programme 2021-2024. FPMC was paused during the financial year 2023-2024 and at the present time the scheme remains closed to new applications.