MORE help is on the way for hard-pressed farming communities in North Yorkshire under a new multi-million pound funding initiative.

Remote and isolated areas across the county are set to benefit from a financial package worth £3.4m that will gradually be distributed over the next five years.

The programme is being managed by North Yorkshire County Council on behalf of the rural development agency Yorkshire Forward.

The intention is to make grants available to those groups, or individuals, that are working together to provide a service or develop a project that will, in turn, help local businesses compete and prosper.

The aim is not only to help enhance the environment itself, but also to attract and retain investment within rural and coastal areas of the county, helping them to build for the future.

Several applications have already been successful in winning funds, including a local food produce initiative which promotes locally-produced foodstuffs.

The Yorkshire Rural Support Network has also benefited from extra cash to support its efforts to provide advice and support in tackling stress in country communities in the wake of BSE and foot-and-mouth.

And in the Yorkshire Dales, Wensleydale Fine Foods is a year-long project that has been set up with the intention of establishing a producer club based around Hawes auction mart and its customers.

To supervised the new funding initiative, agricultural development officer Nick White has now been appointed and he is based in the county council's economic development centre in Northallerton.

"Farming faces a huge challenge to adapt the way it does business," he said yesterday.

"The Policy Commission report, endorsed by the Government, places the food supply chain, the environment and training at the centre of its vision.

"My role, supported by this funding, is to help North Yorkshire farmers secure their future by taking advantage of the opportunities it might offer."

It is now anticipated that a similar support package will be made available to those involved in fishing and fishing-related industries in the near future.