Funding for small-scale food and farming enterprises: How LEAP can help

We know that well-managed, small, mixed agroecological farms are more productive per hectare than the industrial kind, more wildlife-friendly, kinder to livestock, and that they drive positive social change. So far, so good. But from the average high street bank’s point of view, these outcomes are seen as a problem, not a virtue. Small-scale enterprises are not about a ‘grow, grow, grow’ model, which is, of course, what most banks favour.

It follows that poor access to finance is now a big problem for small agroecological food and farming businesses. It can lead to a dependency on grants and very often, to the demise of the business. So where can small food and farming enterprises get affordable finance from?

At the Real Farming Trust we support small food and farming enterprises through our Loans for Enlightened Agriculture Programme (LEAP),  an innovative funding solution which offers a mix of loan and grant. We work with existing cooperatives, social enterprises and community businesses which are past the start-up stage and might now be struggling to get to the next step.

We work with farmers, food producers and retailers who produce good food ethically in their local communities. We’re interested in supporting agroecological businesses of all types - from micro-dairies and community bakeries to ethical supermarkets and veg box schemes.

But it’s not just about the money. We offer mentoring to businesses, alongside the finance. We advise on governance and business planning, including financial forecasting, so that people can feel confident about making loan payments. The really key thing though is that we understand the food and farming sector, and we want to see small, ethical, local enterprises succeed.

For Laurence Jarrett-Kerr at Soul Farm near Falmouth, LEAP has enabled them to grow their veg box scheme and expand into a local farmers’ market (3 min film).

“Where LEAP come in is they really do see the viability of the business we are running and they’re prepared to help us - their goal is to help people grow food, and farm. And the banks’ goal is not to do that, the banks’ goal is to get their money back.”
Laurence Jarrett-Kerr, Soul Farm

As well as offering mentoring alongside the finance, we work with each business to measure social impact, which can attract more investment. Working together towards a shared goal is important, as Caroline Bennett at Sole of Discretion, an ethical fishmonger in Plymouth, explains (3 min film).

“You need investors or lenders such as LEAP to be able to share the vision of these small-scale collectives and, as a community, work and learn from one another.”
Caroline Bennett, Sole of Discretion

In Glasgow, veg box social enterprise Locavore borrowed money from LEAP to take forward and open their shop in Partick. Locavore’s Managing Director Reuben Chesters is clear that LEAP works because we understand the sector (3 min film).

“If you borrow money from a bank they generally don’t know very much about your business, they don’t know much about sustainable agriculture and building a better food system, but LEAP does.”
Reuben Chesters, Locavore

Growers choosing a no-pesticide route face many challenges which can take years to overcome, as Rob Alderson at Goonown Growers in St Agnes explains when he talks about dealing with wireworm (3 min film) - but he has a long-term self-sustaining vision of growing which we support.

“For us it’s just so important that this type of food production is supported and in an ideal world, you know, we’d have a government that was supporting this kind of small-scale sustainable farming… that’s why it’s great that LEAP exists and is able to step in and support.”
Rob Alderson, Goonown Growers

If you want to find out more about LEAP, register your interest or drop us an email. We have funds available until the end of 2022.

We support a wide range of governance structures, including Community Interest Companies (CICs), Community Benefit Societies (CBS), cooperatives, and Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLGs). The programme cannot support sole traders, partnerships or Companies Limited by Shares (CLS), but we do work with people to consider their governance model and convert to one of the above.