The Prince of Wales hosted a reception at his Highgrove home last week to launch The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme.
The programme aims to provide business support and one-to-one guidance to 300 family farms each year across the UK, as well as giving them the tools to evaluate their viability and long-term sustainability.
“No-one can predict the long term effects of the continued volatility in farm-gate prices, the many other uncertainties in the sector, or for that matter the depth of the crisis that is looming over many farming families,” said Prince Charles in his speech. “However, we can be certain that the sector is going to have to respond and that farm businesses of all sizes will need to be more efficient and resilient and improve their productivity and competiveness, through diversification and added value enterprises. This is why, if I may say so, my Farm Resilience Programme is so vitally important and I can only pray that it will give as much hope and confidence as possible to farmers during these uncertain and difficult times.”
The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme will be run by The Prince’s Countryside Fund, a charity set up by The Prince in 2010 to improve the prospects of family farms and the quality of rural life.
During the reception, His Royal Highness met Ambassadors of The Prince’s Countryside Fund, including former JLS band member JB Gill, who now runs his own farm in Kent.
Source: www.princeofwales.gov.uk
