A well-attended conference titled 'Sustaining Rural Economies through Trans-national Co-operation' was held in May at the Nantyffin Motel, Llandissilio, to launch a new EU funded (Article 6 - European Social Fund) project called Harnessing Rural Capital. The two-day conference organised by PLANED and Carmarthenshire County Council was held in order to highlight the challenges of restructuring in Agriculture and the Rural Economy. Attended by over 70 delegates, the conference heard a number of speakers from Ireland, Sweden and Wales, as well as visiting a number of locations in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire to highlight issues and opportunities relating to agricultural diversification and sustainable rural development. Keynote speaker at the conference Dai Davies (NFU- Cymru president) said: "Sustainability is the buzz word in the Welsh Assembly at present, to which there are many definitions. Although this conference is all about keeping rural economies alive, the reality is that returns from agriculture have fallen dramatically over the last ten years - especially in the dairy sector. This EU Article 6 (ESF) funded partnership project is led by Ballyhoura Development, Co Cork, with other partner organisations based in Ireland, Sweden and PLANED, West Wales European Centre/ Carmarthenshire County Council in West Wales. With a broad partnership group in each area, responsible for local implementation, the aim of the project is to develop and test new ideas whilst transferring knowledge to support local communities to meet the challenges of restructuring in the Agriculture and the Rural Economy. As part of this project, PLANED supported by key partner organisations in Pembrokeshire (CCW, FUW, NFU, PCNPA) has established a forum called Pembrokeshire Sustainable Agriculture Network. The aim of the Network is to bring farming/ environmental organisations and farmers in Pembrokeshire together to identify, discuss and take forward new ideas and opportunities, e.g. renewable energy, recycling, novel crops and biodiversity, linked to sustainable agriculture.
