Prince’s Fund offers £725,000 to help struggling farmer groups
© Rex Shutterstock A £725,000 pot of funding is being made available to help farmers and rural communities cope with low farmgate prices and struggling services.
The money will come from the Prince’s Countryside Fund and has been allocated in reaction to the ongoing crisis affecting much of the farming community.
Individual farmers will not be able to apply, but organisations and groups such as Young Farmers’ associations and rural charities will be eligible.
Applicants can request grants up to £50,000. The fund opens on Monday, 7 September and the application deadline is 5pm on Thursday, 8 October 2015.
Funding will be available to projects that:
- Focus on developing stronger, more sustainable farm and rural enterprises with the aim of halting the decline of the rural economy – for example, providing rural businesses with support and advice or supporting farmer-led initiatives.
- Help improve skills and increase opportunities to take up rural careers, in particular in farming, with the aim of helping people to remain within and contribute to the rural economy
- Deliver assets and services that keep rural communities together and develop a more sustainable rural economy
Claire Saunders, director of the Prince’s Countryside Fund, said: “Rural and farming communities are under immense pressure at the moment. We are looking for projects that will have a long-term positive effect to help sustain our rural areas and encourage enterprise that will help the people who care for our countryside and make it tick.
“Britain’s environment, security and prosperity depends on our countryside. It is crucial that we protect this priceless national asset and provide funding that supports the remarkable people working to create and sustain a vibrant rural economy.”
More details on the fund can be found here.
Last week the charity reopened a fund for to improve the business skills of dairy farmers. Dates and contacts for the Princes’ Dairy Initiative can be found here.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund is a charity founded by the Prince of Wales. So far it has given £6m in grants to 135 projects across the country.