Rural businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are being urged to bid for a slice of a �60m scheme to help boost business opportunities from farm produce to holiday cottages.

Grants worth up to �1m each will meet up to 40pc of the cost of projects that improve farm competitiveness, develop agri-food businesses, exploit tourism opportunities or make forestry more competitive and environmentally friendly.

Funding, which is distributed locally, will also be available to support small rural businesses.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said farmers will be able to apply for funding to improve areas of their farm businesses including animal health and welfare and water management.

Among those helped already by the scheme, which was first launched in 2010, include Cranswick Country Foods, which was awarded a grant of �408,250 for a sausage factory at Watton in Norfolk.

That has seen 71 staff taken on which is due to rise to 86 when the new venture reaches full production. The grant was used to upgrade existing premises and to construct a new unit for five production lines allowing Cranswick will expand their business in Norfolk and produce a range of pork sausages packaged and distributed in East Anglia with pig meat supplied by 17 local farms.

Bungay basesd JH Lambert also opened its new abattoir at Eye in Suffolk after receiving �1.4m which has seen 25 extra staff taken on with a further 10 jobs due to be created.

The project supports about 1,100 local livestock farmers who are able to cut travel time, costs and distress to their animals. The new facility is considered crucial to not only protect livestock and meat production in the region but also to promote East Anglia as a world class meat producer.

David Fisher, who received just over �30,000 to support his Wisbech-based apple juice business Watergull Orchards, which supplies 40 Waitrose stores, said the cash helped to invest in a new press and mill to enable the company to supply more stores over a larger area and enter the cider market.

'The grant has really helped me move the business forward and freed up some time to pursue more potential sales which are essential to keep growing the business,' Mr Fisher said. 'The application process and follow up has been helped by the team and I really appreciate their help.'

Grants may also be available to rural companies to buy new processing and packing equipment which will allow them to sell their products to new markets.

And funding will help businesses exploit the growing tourism industry by allowing them to apply for backing to provide accommodation, visitor services and countryside activities.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: 'Businesses in rural England can play a significant part in helping to rebuild the nation's finances.

'From today, they have the chance to turn their most ambitious and innovative business plans into a reality - boosting profits, supporting a thriving rural economy and improving the natural environment.

'Our �60m investment will give farmers and rural entrepreneurs life-changing opportunities to transform their business prospects for the long term.'

The scheme opens for applications today, with the first round running until the end of April. A second round of applications is expected in the autumn.

Funding will prioritise small businesses in rural growth networks, a �15m pilot project which aims to address some of the hurdles faced by countryside areas including a lack of suitable premises and poor broadband and mobile facilities.