Barclays CEO Jes Staley has announced an extension of the bank’s UK Farming Loan Fund to at The Great Yorkshire Show.

On Tuesday, Jes Staley announced that the Loan Fund would be bumped up to £200 million in recognition of ongoing volatility, to allow farmers to invest in business efficiency, agri-tech and/or diversify into new revenue streams.

The announcement follows the launch of the first Loan Fund (which was set at £100 million) in 2016, which the bank said was in response to the Brexit vote. Barclays said the increase to the Fund came after strong interest in the first fund last year, and considerable uncertainty for farmers which still lies ahead.

The bank said it is also introducing new flexible cashflow finance for UK farmers, offering both short-term and long-term cashflow support, to help crop and livestock farming businesses that are expanding rapidly to plan ahead and purchase essentials such as seed, fertilizer or livestock when they need them.
 
Announcing the fund at The Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, Jes Staley, said, “It’s at times like these that UK Agriculture needs a crucial boost from banks to weather any uncertainty. We want to help farmers thrive over the short-term and also to plan for a strong future. We are pleased to extend our dedicated UK Farming Loan Fund, responding to demand from farmers. Barclays has been supporting UK agriculture for almost 300 years – one of our constituent banks in Yorkshire, the York Union Banking Company, was commonly known as ‘The Farmers’ Bank’ – and the sector is critical to fuelling the UK’s economy and households.”

Reacting, NFU Deputy President Minette Batters said, “We welcome this announcement from Barclays, which recognises its willingness to invest in farming, that will improve business efficiency, the take-up of new technology or to diversify to generate new revenue streams. This comes at a time where despite the tentative signs of price recovery, the sector is still far from seeing levels which will sustain a long-term and profitable farming industry. On June 29th, the NFU met with the key players from the Bank of England and the banking industry and laid out the need for investment on farms. It was reassuring to see that the banks recognised the importance of investment and that farming can look forward to continued future financial support.”