Tier 1 of the Farm Business Investment Scheme (FBIS), coming with a grant worth up to 40% of costs for machinery and equipment designed to improve output and efficiency on NI farms, has been allocated an initial budget of £15m.That is a budget allocation which is slightly ahead of the total pot of money that was paid out under the Farm Modernisation Programme (FMP) under the last Rural Development Programme. Over three tranches, the scheme paid out £13.83m. It is understood that the list of eligible items and machinery in Tier 1 of the FBIS will be similar to the list under the FMP. However, while the total amount of grant support under the FMP was limited to £4,000 with a minimum spend of £1,250 (£500 of grant), Tier 1 of the FBIS is expected to be more ambitious, with a minimum project spend of £5,000 to a maximum of £30,000.