Can Charles's rural action plan work?

The Prince of Wales: wants to promote sustainable agriculture

The Prince of Wales has launched a Rural Action programme which aims to persuade companies to use their resources to help rural communities.

Prince Charles believes that the foot and mouth outbreak has finally focussed the attention of the wider world on the desperate plight of all those involved in the rural economy - the collapse of farm incomes, the closure of local businesses, and the isolation of communities ill-served by public transport.

Is this the sort of initiative that could galvanise government action? Or is it no more than a little special pleading by a frustrated organic farmer?

Speaking at St James Palace on behalf of the organisation Business in the Community, of which he's the President, the Prince outlined his scheme:

• Encouraging businesses and the community to buy their food locally.
• Reviving the fortunes of market towns.
• Financially support community entrepreneurs who provide leadership in their areas.
• Creating affordable housing in the countryside.

Professor Allan Buckwell, the Chief Economist of the Country Land and Business Association, said he was very pleased with the proposals, but as well as bottom-up efforts, top-down - or government action - was required too.

He said supermarkets operated "tricky" practices - such as placing onerous terms on local produce suppliers - which needed to be checked by government, as part of its responsibility for competition policy.

Can it work?

The most awkward of the Prince's proposals may be the preference for local production. Many country dwellers will have sympathy - but can it work?

Moreton Middleditch, the Chief Executive of SPAR grocers, said the Princes proposals were realistic. With 2,600 stores across the UK and half of them in rural areas, his shops do include local produce on their shelves.

The Government has proposed a review of the rural economy, to be conducted by the new department that replaced MAFF: the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Alun Michael, the Rural Affairs Minister who was at the launch of the Prince's initiative, said he welcomed ideas and proposals from voluntary and non-governmental organisations.

'No magic wand'

"There's no magic wand to produce this - it needs people working together and that's why this initiative is so important," he said.

But he rejected the charge that the government was slow in addressing the needs of the rural community, pointing to its countryside white paper.

But Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, said the government shouldn't be complacent about problems in the countryside.

"The Prince is begging questions about what the government does, what it doesn't do and what it should be doing," he said.

"There are three key areas the government has got to address: investment, tax breaks and competition policy," he added.