Our projects
100 new farm enterprises in Powys
Working with the Future Farms Partnership, we will seek to build new enterprises in three ways: diversification on existing farms, leasing land from Powys County Council for “affordable farms”, and buying land into community ownership for new farms. Working at this scale is forcing us to confront the fundamental challenges, particularly land that is priced at three times its agricultural value.
Advocacy for diversifying Wales' food supply
We are building a national coalition of organisations to focus attention on the need to secure our future food supplies by supporting new farming enterprises. We will organise a campaign of advocacy to overcome the current low priority given to this issue.
Political support and partnership
We enjoy a strong alignment of political support in our place, built up over the years: Welsh Government, Powys County Council, and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Over the last year, we built three new farms with homes with a vibrant partnership of non-governmental organisations, the Future Farms Partnership. We have mobilised this partnership to work to achieve the aim of 100 farm enterprises.
The challenges we face
Future food poverty
Food prices are rising inexorably as a result of escalating economic inequality and this is driving food poverty ever deeper. The global food supply chains we rely on are being undermined by climate change, political and economic instability and war. These create sudden price rises.
Read more on our blog post
Land price inflation
As economic inequality spirals and the rich become richer, the price of all assets rises. That includes land. In Wales, land is already priced at three times its agricultural value because it is seen as a good investment by those with wealth. This is gradually sucking farmland out of farming.
Centralised power in the food system
95% of our shop-bought food comes through ten supermarkets. Such concentrated power is not kind to farmers, driving down the prices they get so that they have to depend on Government subsidies.
Environmental damage
Food and drink consumption has been found to be the biggest driver of carbon emissions in our National Park, nearly 50% more than either home energy or vehicle fuel. Our rivers (Wye and Usk) are national notorious for their pollution, largely driven by agriculture. Biodiversity is declining, even in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
The young are leaving
Unaffordable housing and the lack of good jobs are driving young people away and decimating rural communities.
Thank you to our supporters!
Latest updates
Keep up to date with our latest news and updates
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Future Farms Partnership raises its game: 100 farms
Our three big challenges
Food is going to become the biggest poverty issue in Wales: we need to grow more of it
What’s keeping us busy this October
Food Shocks Event, Pierhead, Senedd, Cardiff, 16 April 2024
