NEW bursaries to support future farmers have been announced by the Lieutenant-Governor to mark the coronation year of King Charles III.
The bursaries cover up to 100% of fees and living expenses for Islanders wanting to study agriculture or horticulture, in a move which reflects the King’s ‘love of farming and the countryside’.
Announcing the new funding yesterday, Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd said: ‘His Majesty is very keen on agricultural sustainability, homegrown produce and supporting the farming community in the round. Therefore, we are very proud and pleased to be able to offer this support to some Jersey harvesters and Jersey people because we think that, in many ways, the sector can sometimes be forgotten, and it is very much part of the culture and the history and heritage of the Island.’
As well as being intended to show the Crown’s support for these sectors, the bursaries are designed to help improve the Island’s food security and promote the international reputation of the Jersey cow and Jersey Royal potato.
They are available to any Jersey resident, and can be used for programmes ranging from short-term to four-year training programmes. They are expected to be available from September 2024.
Jersey Farmers’ Union president Peter Le Maistre said that since he had started farming in 1974, the number of family farms had dwindled from ‘around 700 or 800 to only 30 or 40’.
He added: ‘I think there is a growing feeling that there are young people out there who might be interested in a career in agriculture.’
Meanwhile, Master Farms is also launching an apprenticeship scheme, aimed at a young person who would join them for a year with the option of continued employment or training afterwards.
Jamie Ribeiro, who started the organic farm Bloom’n Goodness together with his partner, Anna Houiellebecq, earlier this year, said that there were almost no opportunities for training in Jersey for organic farmers.
‘We had Brian Adair, one of the first organic farmers [in Jersey], who has mentored us,’ he said, adding that the pair had learnt most of the trade on the job, using mentors as well as carrying out research on Google.
He added: ‘At the end of the day, financial support can come from government subsidising farmers, but the public have to make the effort to go two minutes down the road to go to their local farm.
‘Just taking that extra two minutes, even if it is just for a bunch of carrots, would make the biggest difference.’
A rural support scheme was unveiled by the government in December last year, designed to encourage farmers to grow food for the local market. The initiative introduces ‘credits’ for farmers, which reward them for providing a ‘public good’, such as minimising waste, creating conservation areas and managing hedgerows.
Details of the scheme were announced at last year’s Jersey Farming Conference. Funding for farmers this year has risen to £3.17 million, according to the government, with Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel previously saying he would fight for more financial support in future.
Islanders interested in a bursary can email hmreceivergeneral@gov.je for further information.
