HRH Prince of Wales Supports British Farmers

The prince accuses the supermarkets of a lack of support for small producers, stating that multiples are happy to make profits from the hard work of farmers, whilst taking on “none of the risk” that farmers put up with in regard to low and fluctuating incomes. He wrote, “Small farmers find themselves in the iniquitous position of taking the biggest risk, often acting as the buffer from the retailer against all the economic uncertainties of producing food, but receiving the least return.

“It cannot be right that a typical hill farmer earns just £12,600, with some surviving on as little as £8,000 a year, whilst the big retailers and their shareholders do so much better out of the deal, having taken none of the risk.”

Such low incomes are not enough to allow farmers to invest in their land for the future, meaning that the path is being laid for future issues. The royal describes farmers as the guardians of the British countryside, who are being “penalised” for choosing their way of life.

Government data gathered by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) shows that the total income from farming fell by 14 per cent, while the average income per farm dropped by 29 per cent.

Financial support claims made to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution increased threefold in the first nine months of 2013. Graeme Willis, policy adviser for the CPRE, said: “We have lost a lot of the traditional stores that should be the first port of call as outlets for smaller farms. There is a very strong argument for the supermarkets to deepen their direct links by buying from smaller local producers.”

In response to the Prince Charles’ editorial, The British Retail Consortium have claimed that supermarkets historically have shown positive investment in farmers but that expectations for them to resolve issues faced by the agricultural sector are unfair.