Well-managed, small, mixed agroecological farms are more productive per hectare than the industrial kind, more wildlife-friendly, kinder to livestock, and drive positive social change.

But most high street banks favour a ‘grow as big as you can’ business model, which is not what small-scale community-based enterprises are about.

This means that poor access to finance is a big problem for small agroecological food and farming businesses. It can lead to a dependency on grants and very often, the failure of the enterprise.

The Real Farming Trust launched LEAP to plug this gap in affordable finance.