The Prince of Wales highlighted the vital need for "food security" today as he called for greater efforts to target local markets.

His Royal Highness also issued a warning about the consequences of failing to adapt and improve the way the food system currently works.

He underlined how healthy rural communities can thrive through an "integrated approach" to food production.

The Prince was speaking on the fourth and final day of his annual summer tour of Wales and his keynote speech came at the opening of a food seminar taking place at the National Botanical Garden of Wales.

The Prince is known for his support of organic farming, and put his principles into practice on his own Duchy Home Farm on his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire.

The seminar, attended by a host of Welsh food producers, local authorities and Welsh Government officials, seeks to establish a future food strategy for Wales.

Today, The Prince made a passionate plea for schools, hospitals and other bodies to source more of the food they serve locally.

He said:  "I hope that in your deliberations today the need for a truly integrated approach is central to your thinking.

"If one element in the equation is neglected the whole system will suffer serious decline."

He added: "There is now plenty of, I think, rather terrifying evidence of this happening around the world."

He said that, as a result, the importance of "seeing things in the round" and finding better ways to operate could not be stressed enough.

In his speech The Prince asked where food produced in Wales ended up.

"Is it not worth developing a more specific strategy that re-localises the food system in Wales, so that more of the food produced here actually stays here, to be processed and consumed?

"I wonder how much of the food that supplies, say, local Welsh schools actually comes from Welsh farms around them? "Or does that prove too expensive, so it ends up coming from much further afield."

The Prince rounded off his speech by saying it had been "inspiring to see so many examples over the past few days of those in rural communities in this part of the world pulling together, often against very difficult odds, to produce food of such quality".

"It has encouraged me to believe that it is possible to forge an intelligent, scientifically sound, local and economically viable approach to food production which dramatically enhances the resilience of food security here in Wales."

The speech was very well received by the audience and His Royal Highness was warmly applauded.

Speaking after The Prince, Alun Davies, Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs, thanked His Royal Highness for his speech adding that the Welsh Government was committed to sustainable food production in Wales.

The food seminar will cover a range of issues including rural skills, production, marketing, tourism and rural sustainability.

The Prince also spoke of the inspiration of travelling round Wales and seeing how communities pulled together to produce quality food.

"It has encouraged me to believe that it is possible to forge an intelligent, scientifically sound, local and economically viable approach to food production which dramatically enhances the resilience of food security here in Wales."

The Prince later toured areas of the garden and was also presented with six examples of a rare Meadow Clary plant. The species is currently only found in 23 locations in Britain and only grows naturally in one. When it was found to be declining even there, seeds were taken and the plant cultivated privately. It now no longer grows anywhere in the wild. The Prince will be using the plants as part of his hay meadow restoration project. Later, he moved on to Llanelli where he visited the family-run Felinfoel brewery.

The Prince was taken on a tour of the brewery which dates back to 1878. He was shown the process, unchanged for more than 200 years, used to produce the award-winning Welsh brew. He began by overseeing the mixing of hops with malt and was taken through the fermentation stage and led to the basement where the beer is stored in kegs.

"He was very interested in the whole process and wanted to know exactly what was going on," said Ryan Thomas, 56, assistant brewer at the site. As he spoke, he stirred a giant vat of used malt, a waste product sold on to farmers for animal feed. "It's not every day that you meet a Prince while you're working," he added.

Later The Prince called in at the adjacent Greyhound pub where he passed behind the bar and pulled a pint of premium Double Dragon beer and a pint of stout. In the pub he also met local people who had helped keep their communities alive using the Pub is the Hub scheme. Sue Grifiths runs a former pub in Kidwelly called The Gate House which, since closing, she had converted into a coffee shop. She presented The Prince with a homemade apple pie which is a speciality at the outlet. "My friends said that I should present him with one. It was freshly made this morning. I make them every day for the shop," she said.

Afterwards, The Prince travelled to the village of Llangennech where he officially opened a Prince's Trust Cymru office at Stradey Park Business Centre. The youth charity helps disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track. It supports 13- to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion.

Later, The Prince visited an urban farm located on a three-and-a-half-acre site on the outskirts of Swansea. The Swansea Community Farm is home to more than 50 animals and runs a breeding programme for Welsh rare breed pigs. The animals help to educate children about where produce comes from as well as raising funds through meat sales. Last year the popular community farm, which is based along Pontarddulais Road and is free to enter, attracted 5,000 visitors. The Prince's charity In Kind Direct helps to keep control of costs at the farm. The charity manages to do this by providing low-cost supplies, offering savings of £6,300 a year. Among the products on offer are waterproof hi-visibility jackets, cleaning products, toiletries, children's books, coloured pencils and footballs. All have been donated by an array of companies to In Kind Direct which acts as a redistributing organisation.

His Royal Highness toured the site in teeming rain today, meeting youngsters fishing tadpoles from a pond with nets. The Prince chatted with volunteers harvesting potatoes and other vegetables at the farm and was offered popcorn, freshly popped over an open fire at the site. The Prince also chatted with beekeepers and later unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit. Before leaving, he was given a warming cup of tea sweetened with honey harvested from the farm's own hives.

A crowd of local schoolchildren lined the road, singing in the rain, as The Prince took his leave from the last visit before departing for his home in Myddfai, near Llandovery. Further information Read The Prince's speech in full