Helen Aldis from the Fund’s said: “Our countryside faces many challenges. By working with companies such as Lloyds Bank Agriculture we are able to invest in projects that help create a thriving rural community, injecting funding and resources to support fledgling rural businesses, assisting farmers to improve their business performance and encouraging the next generation to consider a career in the countryside.”
Andrew Naylor, Head of Agriculture at Lloyds Bank, said: “I am delighted that we have committed a further three years to this extremely worthwhile initiative. We recognise that for the farming sector to prosper, it needs to be supported by thriving rural communities, which is at the heart of the Fund’s work in tackling issues such as isolation and the decline in rural communities.
{pull-quote}“”By working closely together in rural communities to support farming businesses and backing the work of organisations like The Prince’s Countryside Fund, we hope to help Britain prosper.”
In addition to the three-year funding agreement, Lloyds Bank is hosting a fundraising day at Adam Henson’s farm in the Cotswolds in September to support the Fund and engage employees. Adam is a longstanding farming customer of the Lloyds Bank Agriculture business and has been their farming ambassador since 2010. He works in close conjunction with the agricultural teams helping to heighten awareness and understanding of the importance of financial and environmental sustainability within the farming sector.
Since 2010, The Prince’s Countryside Fund has contributed £4.4 million in grants to support 140 rural communities by improving service provision, 3,400 farm businesses through funding projects that work directly with farmers to improve efficiency and profitability and 880 rural enterprises through supporting innovative rural business projects. 4,380 young people have benefitted from projects offering training opportunities and 18,000 children will be educated in food and farming in a sustainable countryside.
