Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) 2022–2025

Following the success of the interim phase (2021–2022), Natural Enterprise successfully secured funding from Defra through the Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF). This allowed Wight Rural Hub to provide free, tailored advice and support to Isle of Wight farmers and land managers receiving the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), helping them navigate changes during the agricultural transition.

Over the course of the programme, we have:

• Delivered 50 one-to-one advisory sessions to Island farm businesses, including drop-in advice clinics
• Attended 21 external events, including the Royal Isle of Wight County Shows and the local ploughing match
• Published 16 monthly newsletters (reaching 5,612 recipients) featuring articles, events, funding opportunities, guidance and useful resources
• Hosted 9 specialist seminars, attended by 434 farmers, land managers, and advisors, on topics such as agroforestry, cropping, finance, natural capital, nutrient management, subsidies, succession planning and soil health
• Kept our Facebook and Instagram accounts regularly updated with timely industry news and opportunities
• Coordinated steering group meetings to share knowledge with local organisations including the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), IW National Landscapes, NFU and NFU Mutual
• Organised 6 update meetings with 378 attendees, featuring speakers from Defra, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and the CLA
• Created this website to provide a hub for news, events, blog posts and resources
• Delivered 12 practical workshops attended by 225 local farmers and advisors, covering topics such as agroforestry, hedgerow management, business skills, social media, soil health and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)

Wight Rural Hub is at a critical juncture with the cessation of Defra Future Farming Resilience Funding in March 2025.

By leveraging our established reputation and strong community ties, we will use commercial support to continue to provide this vital service, at a critical time.

FFRF Steering Group

Representatives from the Islands rural and farming groups and organisations support the Wight Rural Hub team to ensure that the delivery is in line with the needs of the Island community.  Its members are: 

• Countryside Landowners & Business Assoc
• IW Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• IW Grain
• IW Institute of Agricultural Secretaries
• IW Young Farmers
• National Farmers Union
• Natural Enterprise
• Royal Isle of Wight Agricultural Society