King Charles is to give nearly £390 000 million to charities to help African farmers as part of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, which will also help environmental causes.
A spokesman for the fund said: “These charities were selected by trustees for their enormously important work in the areas of environmental sustainability and social inclusion, both subjects close to the King’s heart.”
The seven charities, which will each be awarded a proportion of the £1.95 million donation over the next three years, are: Plantlife International, Practical Action, the Wildlife Trusts, Age Scotland, Carers Trust, BIGKID Foundation and Omega, the National Association for End of Life Care.
One of the big environmental causes to secure funding is Practical Action, a charity that supports some of the world’s poorest people to build sustainable and regenerative farming systems connected to their natural environment.
Its grant of £390,000 will allow small-holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to develop agricultural systems that can adapt to climate change and still provide a good standard of living.
In Zimbabwe, Practical Actions has adopted a clever combination of knowledge transfer, skills training, solar-powered irrigation and improved seeds are helping farmers in Zimbabwe to double their food production and increase their income.
Farmers in the Gwanda and Bulilima districts of Zimbabwe are able to double their harvests through to a holistic solution that includes sunshine, seeds and knowledge sharing.
Families with small farms in parts of Zimbabwe struggle to produce enough food to feed themselves properly. Almost a third of households in the country are food insecure and during drought periods many have had to rely on food aid.
“More of the world’s people rely on agriculture for their survival than any other occupation. But three quarters of the world’s poorest people are farmers, confirming that agriculture simply isn’t working for the vast majority of them,” Practical Action said.
“We help people build farming systems that contect nature 0 climate, land, water, plants and animals – with people – culture, economics and society. Agro-ecology can enable smallholder farmers to achieve a decent standard of living, whilst protecting the environment and building natural resources.
“This offers a sustainable alternative to intensive agriculture, with the potential to transform the lives of millions of families,” it added.
