NatWest has announced a new offering to reduce financial barriers to farmers transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices.

With a new partnership with McCain, the scheme will enable a shift towards regenerative agriculture practices is vital to futureproof the farming industry as the climate becomes more variable. The transition to more sustainable farming practices often requires up-front investments in new equipment and practices from farmers, which can create a barrier to uptake.

To alleviate those pressures, NatWest, through its Asset Finance arm Lombard, will offer a front-end discount on interest rates to McCain potato farmers to help lift those barriers to entry, ands McCain will be offering a contribution towards the interest payable for assets that support regenerative agriculture practices.

Ian Burrow, head of agriculture, NatWest commented, “Agriculture is a sector of paramount importance to the UK economy, and one which is at a turning point, facing higher costs, inflation and the daunting challenge of net zero. This partnership further enhances the aims and ambitions of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) taskforce, which NatWest is proud to be a part of, and we will continue to stand by farmers and work closely with influential partners, like McCain, to help drive change across the industry.”

McCain has a commitment to make planet friendly food, anchored on its commitment to implement regenerative agriculture across 100 per cent of its global potato acreage by 2030. As part of its wider regenerative agriculture initiatives, McCain joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Agribusiness Task Force alongside a number of businesses and NGOs to further accelerate the scaling of greener practices in the farming industry worldwide, which have been hampered by high costs.

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