Rural Communities and Farming
As a farmer himself, The Prince of Wales cares deeply about the British countryside and the welfare of those who live and work in it.
Maintaining a healthy agricultural sector is vital to the country, not just because the landscape relies on the accumulated knowledge of farming communities for its continued stewardship, but also because the social fabric of the countryside depends on a strong farming base.
The Prince’s belief in the importance of the family farm in agriculture has led him to initiate a number of programmes to help readdress the problems faced by communities in the countryside.
As Duke of Cornwall, The Prince is responsible for the management of a landed estate with many tenant farmers. He is chairman of The Prince's Council, the supervisory body of the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns about 54,764 hectares of land and property in 22 counties.
The Prince puts a high priority on safeguarding the interests of Duchy tenants, and on looking after the environment for future generations, and regularly visits farms and tenants.
The Prince was the driving force behind Business in the Community’s Rural Action programme, which focuses on four practical initiatives: food, farming and local sourcing; strengthening trading conditions for market towns; the provision of affordable rural housing and how businesses can support enterprise in rural communities.
- Food farming and local sourcing
Business in the Community’s work in this area brings business action to support the food and farming agenda in five key areas in partnership with the government and other trade bodies. It does this in the following ways: to encourage companies to buy locally sourced food; to build consumer confidence and trust in food; to support small rural food producers; to work with Farmers and the Food sector to bring farmers closer to the consumer; and to increase the demand for British food.
- Affordable Rural Housing
In many rural communities, there is a shortage of affordable housing for local people. The consequences are often severe, with families, young people and local employees having to move out of the area to seek more affordable housing elsewhere. Adequate provision of affordable housing is essential to sustaining rural communities – both in providing a local work force and ability to maintain local services and in helping maintain a mix of residents in terms of age, skills and needs.
The Prince launched the Affordable Rural Housing Initiative in June 2003 with the aim of engaging the private sector in the provision of affordable homes in rural communities. Led by Business in the Community the initiative has been successful in encouraging businesses – including landowners, property owners, housebuilders, developers and lenders – to explore opportunities to deliver affordable housing.
- Strengthening trading conditions for market towns
Business in the Community has encouraged businesses to take an active role in creating prosperity in market towns by marketing and promoting the town centres with businesses such as Boots and Marks and Spencer taking part.
Rural Enterprise
Business in the Community run a number of successful programmes designed to manage and sustain mutually-beneficial, strong relationships between business and rural enterprise. The programmes under this banner include: The Pub is the Hub, which encourages country pubs to diversify, providing a range of services needed in the local community; HRH The Prince of Wales's Seeing is Believing Programme which gives senior business leaders the opportunity to visit a number of community projects and explore contemporary social issues and what business can do to help; and Rural ProHelp, a national network of Professional Firms who are committed to providing free professional advice and strategic support to community organisations.
The Prince’s concern for farmers all over the UK has led to His Royal Highness starting several initiatives to promote the produce of certain areas in the hope of increasing farmer’s incomes and preserving their way of life.
The Prince started Mey Selections as part of the North Highland Initiative to help farmers in the north of Scotland create a recognised brand for their, mostly meat, produce. The Prince is also working on similar initiatives for farmers in the Peak District and Cumbria, encouraging the local farming community to work together to market their produce.
The Mutton Renaissance initiative was created by The Prince after he met with sheep farmers in the Borders who were struggling to get a decent price for their two-year-old ewes. The Prince felt that by reviving the popularity of the meat from these sheep, known as mutton, it would help struggling family farms survive.
The Prince of Wales's Rural Revival Initiative (RRI)
Launched in 1999, The Prince of Wales's Rural Revival Initiative (RRI) stems from The Prince’s concern that the disadvantage experienced by many people in rural areas is not easily understood or recognised. The initiative was based on the belief that local innovative solutions are needed to overcome problems of rural isolation and that many others will benefit through sharing experience and the lessons learned:
Dale Action for Local Enterprise (DALE)
DALE aims to enable new business start-ups by previously unemployed or underemployed young people in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Based on a Prince’s Trust model, the project provides outreach and support for 18 to 30 year olds. It aims to reduce the drift of population away from the area by demonstrating the possibilities for local employment. DALE has resulted in 61 new businesses, creating a total of 80 new jobs. The project is now being rolled out to the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside, and Defra has recently endorsed DALE as an example of good practice for other regions to adopt.
The Northern Fells Rural Project
Based on seven parishes in the Northern Fells, a remote area of upland Cumbria, the project focuses on identifying the unmet health and social needs of rural residents – particularly the elderly and the young, people with disabilities, carers, young parents, unemployed people and those on low income or without their own transport. Its successful initiatives include a minibus service driven by volunteer drivers which now averages 100 journeys a month, workshops for teenagers on childcare, basic life support, cookery and mechanics, and a benefits advice scheme which has led to more than £20,000 worth of benefits being claimed. The Northern Fells Rural Project Final Report identified that: “When one scratches the surface of an attractive fellside area one finds a significant number of isolated, often stoical individuals, many of them elderly, infirm or caring for others who do not have access to services now considered to be ‘normal’ in the UK.”
YP2 Clay – Action for Young People
Through an innovative voucher scheme, YP2 Clay is successfully demonstrating new ways of working with and engaging young people in St Austell, Cornwall, with a particular focus on the forgotten 14-year-old age group. Each 14-year-old in the parish is given a £20 voucher to redeem on activities of their choice - the face value of the voucher is doubled if at least five people band together for a single project, and trebled, if there are at least 10. It aims to give young people the opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and have control over their own lives. Activities have ranged from quad biking and horse-riding lessons, to communication workshops and a trip to the cinema.
The Prince runs the Duchy Home Farm on the Highgrove Estate, a fully functioning organic farm. It acts as a show case for organic farming and regular tours are run for those thinking of converting to organic land management, supermarket buyers and others with an interest in the practicalities of organics.
The Prince founded Duchy Originals to show that there was a market for organic products created using the principles of sustainable production. Duchy Originals now raises over £1 million a year in profit, all of which goes to charity.
The Prince is Patron of a number of organisations that seek to preserve rural communities and protect British agriculture including Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society, Dry Stone Walling Association, Lleyn Sheep Society, National Hedgelaying Society, Poultry Club of Great Britain, Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Royal Agricultural Society of England and the Welsh Black Cattle Society.
He is also Patron of the Soil Association and the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) both of which encourage organic farming.