Sainsbury's £40m plans for farming investment

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is planning to invest some £40 million over the next three years in farming in a bid to boost its rural supply chain, it emerged yesterday.

The group will pump the cash into its farming "development groups", which it set up four years ago to work with farmers covering different product areas such as beef, lamb, milk and grain, according to one Sunday newspaper.

The funding will be used to improve infrastructure and efficiency at the farms, for benefits such as covering vets' bills and training, and for developing IT resources for the farmers.

Sainsbury's has already invested 21m in its farming development groups since their formation.

The move comes at a time of rising commodity prices - such as wheat, which has been lifted by an export ban in Russia, one of the world's biggest suppliers, following droughts in the country.