Food and Farming Networks

The map has now been completed and we have full coverage in terms of the above Networks which are just beginning to define themselves in a number of key areas of activity. Some seem to have an extremely broad “rural communities” perspectives whilst others are concentrating more narrowly on food and farming. Introducing the latest 3 networks this article explains they are:

The Wessex Rural and Farming Network;

Cumbria & North Lancashire Farming, Food & Rural Group; and

Cheshire, South and West Lancashire, Merseyside & Manchester Land Use Farming & Rural Group.

 It goes on to say:

 Environment Minister, Richard Benyon said; “We are giving rural communities a new voice so that their interests will not be neglected by Government as they have been in the past. Great business ideas should never be held back by the challenges of a rural location.  These Rural and Farming Networks are making us aware of the problems that local businesses face so that we can tackle them and provide the right opportunities for businesses to grow.”

Rural and Farming Networks bring together people from rural communities, rural businesses and the food and farming industries.  They make a direct link between rural areas and the Government, creating new opportunities to develop better and more targeted policy.  

Each group will also be a vital point of contact in the event of local emergencies – such as flooding – giving advice and information so that the right kind of assistance can be provided to keep businesses running.’

According to this article: Caroline Spelman said as part of the launch of the new Food and Farming networks: “For too long, little was done to address rural poverty or rural unemployment. We’re determined to fix that, and stand up for those communities that have found it difficult to have their voices heard until now.”

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will today announce the creation of 14 new “Rural and Farming Networks” to collect the views of people and businesses in the countryside

“These networks will give rural business and community leaders a direct link to me and my team to tell us their problems so we can find ways to help,” Mrs Spelman writes. “This will give rural communities a clear say on how policy is developed so our most remote towns and villages can grow stronger and thrive.”

Money isn’t the solution to everything so I don’t buy into a simple criticism that these are hollow promises because the fora have no funding. Of more concern and no friends from theNorth Westhave so far offered an explanation, is the fact that communities fromCheshirethrough toCumbriaseem to have no Forum to cover their area.

Just what these groupings will achieve is still to be seen – they do however herald the next piece in the new jigsaw of rural policy development. I have a funny feeling that they might be very empowering and useful if people get behind them. I have some thoughts on how this might be done if you would like to drop me an email

Finally after much waiting and speculating the list of new networks has been announced. It builds on this Government’s  pick and mix approach to boundaries – with no forum at all for the North West – what do Cumbria and Lancashire think? and three overlapping forums in the East Midlands. I suppose we just need to park the old deterministic past which drove public policy and go with the flow!

The full list identified in the press release is:

1. Farming Food and Rural Network East
2. Rural Network East Midlands
3. Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture
4. Derbyshire Economic Partnership Rural Forum
5. Food, Farming and Rural Affairs Tees Valley
6. Farming and Rural Issues Group (covering much of the South East)
7. Essex Rural Partnership
8. The Kent Rural Network
9. Rural Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Partnership
10. South West Rural and Farming Network
11. Worcestershire Rural Hub (covering Worcestershire and close links with Warwickshire)
12. The Rural Hubs Partnership (covering Herefordshire, Shropshire and Staffs)
13. Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network
14. The North Eastern Farming and Rural Advisory Network

Defra identifies the real benefit of such fora as: “The Networks bring together people from rural communities, rural businesses and the food and farming industries. They will make a direct link between rural areas and the Government, creating new opportunities to develop better and more targeted policy. Each group will also be a vital point of contact in the event of local emergencies – such as flooding – giving advice and information so that the right kind of assistance can be provided to keep businesses running.”

 If the networks are really important then whilst overlap can clearly be managed I am more intrigued about what will happen to cover the holes in map – although one friend in the North East we quizzed today reflected “Cumbria are probably well enough organized to get on an make things happen for themselves rather than relying on a new talking shop!”

We should watch these new forums very carefully a bit like LEPs they represent a significant new departure and are full of the scope for real success or real failure based on how much their stakeholders choose to embrace them.