The Community Irrigation Fund
About the Community Irrigation Fund
The Community Irrigation Fund
The Community Irrigation Fund (CIF) aims to build resilience in agricultural producers and rural communities, and ensure their long-term economic growth within sustainable environmental limits by reducing the risks they face from water shortages caused by climate change.
The CIF helps agricultural producers and rural communities adapt to climate change by assisting promoters of community water storage and/or irrigation schemes overcome the high transaction costs of generating investor and/or community support.
A community scheme is one that is initiated, developed and used by multiple members of a rural community, primarily for irrigation.
A total of $5.7 million (excluding GST) spread over eight years (2008/09 to 2015/16) is available to assist with the cash costs of generating investor and/or community support. The Fund is contestable and will accept applications from 2007/08 to 2011/12. Financial support for up to 50 percent of valid costs is available to successful applicants, for up to four years.
Applications for 2009/10 close on 20 February 2009. Applicant groups must be New Zealand-registered legal entities.
Funding available
- A total of $5.7 million (excluding GST) in grants is available, spread over eight years.
- The CIF is contestable and will accept applications over the five years from 2007/08 to 2011/12. Payments will be made from the CIF from 2008/09 until 2015/16, after which it will cease.
- Successful applicants will receive funding for up to 50 percent of the cash costs of generating investor and/or community support, for a maximum of four years. In exceptional cases, if funds allow and with the permission of MAF's Deputy Director General (Policy), funding may be granted for a longer period.
- There is no minimum or maximum level of grant for any one group. However, because the amount available for grants is limited, the value of grants given to any group may be based on the area of land to be irrigated and/or the volume of water to be stored.
What can grants be used for?
You can use grants for activities that generate investor and/or community support for community water storage and/or irrigation schemes.
Activities for which you could use grants include:
- supporting a project manager or public affairs co-ordinator;
- promotional and communications activities;
- facilitating discussions with the community on relevant issues;
- developing a prospectus for potential investors in the community;
- investigating a range of potential scheme funding arrangements;
- facilitating farmer investment (e.g. showing farmers the benefits and costs of irrigation); and
- investigating possibilities for the multiple use of water by communities (e.g. recreational opportunities).
What can't grants be used for?
You can not use grants for:
- capital expenditure or the physical construction of schemes;
- pre-feasibility or feasibility studies for water storage or irrigation schemes, which are potentially funded by MAF's Sustainable Farming Fund (www.maf.govt.nz/sff);
- activities more appropriately funded by other Funds or organisations;
- assisting with in-kind (non-cash) costs;
- participation in statutory processes (e.g. resource consent applications) or litigation;
- local or central government fees or charges;
- legal and bank costs;
- long-term, on-going costs of an organisation/project beyond the grant period; and
- retrospective costs.
How does the CIF differ from the Sustainable Farming Fund?
Both the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) and the CIF provide grants on a contestable basis for different stages of the development of water storage and irrigation schemes.
The SFF supports projects that contribute to improving the financial and environmental performance of the land-based productive sectors. It provides grants for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for water storage and irrigation schemes. In addition, the SFF has funded numerous other water related (and many non-water related) projects, such as a Code of Practice and Design Standards for irrigation, improving irrigation water efficiency, and guidelines for the design of piped irrigation distribution systems.
The CIF focuses on assisting scheme proposals that have completed a feasibility study (or similar) advance to the next phase of development. Both the SFF and the CIF fund activities that generate community support for schemes. However, because raising community (and investor) support for schemes generally intensifies following the completion of a feasibility study and prior to applying for resource consents, the CIF focuses on assisting scheme promoters with these activities.
It is possible for promoters of a community water storage and/or irrigation scheme to apply to the SFF for assistance with a feasibility study, and once this is completed, apply to the CIF for funding for the next phase of scheme development.
Contact for Enquiries
Senior Project Adviser
Natural Resources Group
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
WELLINGTON 6140
Telephone: (04) 894 0632
Contact this person
