Our Food 1200
Our aim is to secure 1200 acres of land in 3-10 acre plots across Bannau Brycheiniog and Powys for modern, regenerative fruit and vegetable farming for local markets.We are an implementation partner for the radical new management plan of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, pursuing radical objectives for food, climate, nature and people.
We want to build a resilient farming system that:
Is small-scale, highly productive and commercially viable.
Helps provide food security for Wales.
Gives the asset poor, particularly our young people, a chance to access land and start a regenerative farming enterprise.
Promotes community through local trading and shared community ownership of our landscape – a “foundational economy”.
Is regenerative: purposefully building biodiversity, increasing soil health and fixing carbon within it, avoiding harmful chemicals and pollution, and producing a lot of food in a small area so that more land can be left for nature.
Creates short local supply chains that keep money flows and profits local and at a scale that opens new opportunities to all local farmers.
Reduces the impact of our food and drink consumption on carbon emissions and deforestation across the world.
Makes fresh, nutritious, locally grown fruit and veg available to everyone in our region.
Provides communities with opportunities for education and training and helps build new connection with and understanding of our land.
Our Strategy
In collaboration with partners, we are working to:
Buy land into community ownership for new small farms
We’re developing a plan to seek and buy land that can be developed into small farms with homes.
Re-purpose public land
We’ve worked in Powys on a feasibility study to divide a county farm into a group of four small 3-10 acre holdings with affordable homes. There are 130 county farms in Powys, mainly in the north of the county. We believe this is a model for using all publicly owned land to rebuild a resilient food system.
Engage existing farmers and landowners
We’re inviting farmers and landowners to adopt regenerative farming practices, as well as land-sharing, enterprise stacking, leasing and local growing covenants to permit growing for the local commmunity, allowing small farming enterprises with homes to be created on their land.
Influence planning policy
We’re working with the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority and Powys County Council on new planning guidance to permit farmers to live on small commercial fruit and vegetable farms. We commissioned a report on how to change planning regulations.
Find new farmers
We’re working with Black Mountains College to develop a flow of new farmers into the region through their horticulture course.
Regional network of farms
We’re building a network of small farms, currently numbering 20. A strong network supporting marketing, inter-trading and workforce development is a vital piece of infrastructure for the future flourishing of this sector. The network has launched a marketing website, Bannau Acres.
The Challenges we Face
Unreliable food supply
Food supply chains on which we are absolutely dependent are being undermined by climate change and war. We are extremely exposed to food supply failures.
Carbon emissions
Food and drink consumption is by far the biggest driver of residential carbon emissions in our region
Water pollution
Phosphate and nitrate pollution from farming and sewage is killing our rivers and is now so severe that new home building has been suspended across the Wye and Usk catchments.
Access to land
There are currently few incentives for landowners to grow fruit and veg for the local economy. Meanwhile those who want to start, cannot access land.
Farming under pressure
Existing farming is under incredible pressure, principally driven by low prices forced by current supply chains.
The young are leaving
Unaffordable housing and the lack of good jobs is driving young people away and decimating rural communities.
Acres so far
Acres to go
More years to do it in
A special thankyou to our supporters
If you would like to know more, please get in touch.