Business Development Groups

The Business Development Groups Scheme will reopen for applications on Monday 18th November 2019.

Background to Business Development Groups

Knowledge transfer through Business Development Groups (BDG) is a scheme which is funded by the EU through the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme. The scheme uses a group approach to improve the technical efficiency of farm businesses and will also offer participants the opportunity to gain a Level 3 qualification.

How will Business Development Groups work?

Discussion groups have been used throughout the world, in all agricultural sectors, as a way to improve farm business performance. They provide a forum for peer to peer learning, sharing ideas and an opportunity to keep up-to-date with new technology.

The Business Development Groups scheme was launched in November 2015 and today there are over 140 groups in operation. Each BDG will comprise of around 20 like-minded farmers who will meet up to eight times a year to focus on the topics agreed by the group. The group are managed by a dedicated facilitator and activities include on-farm meetings, demonstrations and skills training.

Farmers participating in the scheme benefit from benchmarking their business to identify areas that have the potential to be improved. A business development plan helps identify the actions to be taken to improve the technical efficiency of the business and improve the sustainability of the farm.

As participants work to improve the efficiency of their businesses, they will be awarded credits that will build towards gaining a Level 3 qualification.