Archbishop appeals for funds for flood hit farmers

The ARC-Addington Fund which was originally launched in 2001 to help those farmers who were affected by the foot and mouth crisis, is specifically aimed at those farmers who are facing hardship as a result of having their crops or livestock ruined by the floods.

The Archbishop will ask those gathered at the General Synod in York to make a collective donation to the fund to help those farmers whose crops and livestock have been wiped out. The fund has already received a donation from HRH the Prince of Wales.

The Archbishop will be joined in the launch by the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, who Chairs the Church of England's Panel of Rural Bishops, who will attend the opening of the first day of the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate and speak to farmers exhibiting and attending at the show to inform them of the availability of the fund.

Speaking on Tuesday morning Dr Sentamu said:

"The hardship fund aims to give small amounts that other people are not able to give, but that are really needed to sustain the farm business. The full personal and financial impact of the floods will not be known for some time.

"However the immediate impact of the floods has already caused significant misery for many farmers. There are already examples of 600 sheep drowned on one farm in south-east Staffordshire, 350 on another in Tamworth.

"In my own diocese of York in the village of Wilberfoss, 50 outdoor pigs drowned when the river came up so fast that the farmer could not move them.

"Both big and small farmholders have been affected. In Herefordshire one farmer has lost his potato crop which covered 125 acres. In Shropshire a small holding farmer lost two-thirds of his potato crop over 30 acres.

"We know there is a desire to help out there; on a farm near Driffield in Yorkshire a farmer was faced with having to move his livestock of 650 sheep and 120 beef cattle to ensure they weren't drowned. He had nowhere to put them. The word went out and he received offers of help from as far away as Scotland!"

The ARC-Addington Fund will provide a package of pastoral support and hardship payments to any farmers who have been adversely affected by the recent floods. Working with Farming Help Partners, Farm Crisis Network and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, the ARC-Addington Fund will offer small hardship payments to farmers on a case by case basis. The fund is particularly keen to support farmers who were not able to insure their crops and livestock. These cannot be general compensation payments but if people are insured and are still in genuine hardship, then they should apply.

Farmers can call the Farming Help Partnership on 07002 326 326 and will be put directly in contact with a volunteer from Farm Crisis Network who will visit them, talk through the application and help them complete the form. This will then be submitted to the ARC-Addington Fund, the adjudication panel will meet regularly and aim to turn around the application within five working days. None of the donations will be used for administration; all administration costs are covered by other means.

The ARC-Addington Fund was set up by the Arthur Rank Centre [the churches rural resources centre in Warwickshire] in 2001 during the foot and mouth epidemic, which distributed £10.3 M to farmers in 15 months. The Fund continues its work by providing strategic housing support for those who loose their homes when their rural business ends and this will continue beyond the current extreme circumstances.

Archbishop Sentamu is holding a collection today at General Synod for the flood victims. The Prince of Wales has already made a donation to the ARC-Addington Fund to help get the hardship fund started.

The Arthur Rank Centre is a partnership between the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the national churches and the Rank Foundation. It is 35 years old this year and is an ecumenical centre for the UK churches focusing on rural communities, agriculture and rural churches.