In the United Kingdom, there are more than a dozen non-profit organizations supporting farmers and farming in different cities. Here in the United Kingdom, we have Farmers Support Initiative and Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institutions. Both organizations provide financial support for farmers, especially peasant levels of farming.
But their purposes are more than just that. To put everything in perspective, here are the top objectives of these organizations.
Promote Farmer to Consumer Trade
When it comes to supply and demand, there is always a middleman between most transactions we make. This thing happens daily. When you buy something at the grocery store, you tend to buy goods produced elsewhere. There will always be a price mark-up because that is how retail works.
However, have you ever thought that when you go straight to the suppliers, then you can get the same products but at discounted prices. That is not always the case however, especially for large supply chains. But that is how it is when it comes to the farmer to consumer trade.
Let’s say there is a local rice farm in your area. Instead of buying branded rice products, you can go directly to the farms and deal with them directly. You are sure to get quality and fresh produce. This, of course, applies to goods that can be produced through farming.
Protect Farmers’ Rights
In the United Kingdom and mostly throughout the globe, farmers don’t have much education in their arsenal. Some of them have been farming all their lives. Farming is something passed on from generation to generation. That is why when it comes to legal rights, farmers alone can’t represent themselves.
That is why there are organizations helping farmers protect their rights, mostly when it comes to land ownership. Urbanization is one of the biggest enemies of farming. Thousands of hectares of farmlands are destroyed to make way for infrastructure projects.
The biggest excuse would be that these projects are important for economic growth.
Many non-profit organizations help farmers gain legal representation and resources for legal purposes.
Advocating the Value of Farming
Did you know that in the United Kingdom, 69% of the country’s land area is used for agriculture? Agriculture may not inject a large portion of the value in the national economy, but it keeps several people employed and able to support their families.
Today, many farmers are relying on overseas workers to come in and provide quality skills. Non-profit organizations are informing the public about the many values of farming not only for specific areas in the UK but throughout the entire country.