Charities forced to step in as farm incomes plunge Emergency payments made to working farmers by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) have increased dramatically as a result of the rural crisis. The RABI's latest figures shows it paid £944,000 to 1,311 beneficiaries between January and May this year, one third of which went to 191 working farmers. That compared to £727,000 paid to 1,194 beneficiaries for the same period last year, of which just eight per cent went to 40 working farmers. The institution reported that the cash was being spent on basic essentials, such as food for the family or utility bills. Now, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is calling on consumers and supermarkets to do more to ensure the survival of small farmers, by focusing on locally sourced food and produce. Ian Woodhurst, senior food and farming campaigner at the CPRE, said: "Farmers are facing very difficult times. Their costs are rising, profits are falling and they are facing a very unpredictable future and this is having an impact on the welfare and that of their families. The Farm Crisis Network, a rural charity, reported that its casework in the south west and north west England doubled last year, while charities have warned that growing despair among farmers has led to an increase in the numbers contacting helpline to report they have considered taking their own lives. A recent report by The Prince of Wales's Countryside Fund stated: "Some of the charities supply food vouchers, while volunteers have started to carry Foodbank boxes in their cars to give immediate help when they visit people. In addition it is a sad fact that whilst in normal times farmers are at high risk of contemplating suicide, extended periods of stress greatly increase that risk. The CPRE will tomorrow call on supermarkets to do more to support British farmers by: Paying a fairer price for their produce, taking account of fluctuations in the cost of fertiliser, diesel and animal feed. Stocking more countryside friendly food, such as 'woodland eggs" and 'conservation grade" cereals, to help farmers who manage landscape features and wildlife habitats. Set themselves a target of at least 10 per cent of food sold to come from within a 30 mile area. Mr Woodhurst said: "Supermarkets dominate the grocery sector and our food chain. They need to use their immense market power to support the nation's farmers, the countryside they manage, and boost sales of local food. He added: "The horsemeat scandal has shown what can happen to the food chain if there is a race to the bottom on price. The same lesson needs to be learnt to secure a better future for farming and the countryside. Experts have warned the crisis in farming could lead to increasing large agribusinesses swallowing up small and medium sized farms, in turn posing a threat to the traditional landscape, wildlife diversity and rural communities. There are currently an estimated 298,000 farmers, their spouses and business partners, in the UK. A further 183,000 people are employed as farm workers. The financial crisis has also had a significant impact on the rural economy, with the rising cost of rent, fuel, animal feed, fertiliser and other basic materials cutting into profits. Defra figures also show that rents for tenant farmers have increased by an average 44 per cent in the past five years, with rent for arable land rising from £75 to £105 an acre, £44 to £58 an acre for livestock rent and £75 to £88 an acre for dairy. Around 35 per cent of farm land is rented by tenant farmers, though there are no recent estimates of how many individual tenants there are. Further drops in income are expected for livestock and dairy farmers this year, as overheads rise while farm-gate prices for produce fall, or go up only minimally. Average milk prices increased by only one per cent over the past 12 months, offset by bigger rises in feed costs. Animal diseases, such as bovine TB and the Schmallenberg virus, have also had an impact on farmers" incomes. Mr Woodhurst said: "Its becoming harder and harder for farmers to make a profit across all sectors of the industry, but particularly dairy, pig farming and upland areas. There's a general lack of confidence among farmers about their ability to make a living. The CPRE's warnings over the extent of the farming crisis have been endorsed by The Prince's Countryside Fund. Lord Curry of Kirkharle, one of the fund's trustees, said: "This is the first time that the Countryside Fund has utilised all of its emergency funding and is a sad reflection of what a difficult time this is for farmers. Farms have been hit hard by the poor weather and it is only going to get worse as the need to buy in feed at inflated prices and the increase in other costs begins to have a serious effect on cash flow. A Defra spokesman said: "The extremely wet weather in 2012 has been a severe blow to British farmers. That is why we supporting farmers in a number of ways to help them become as resilient and profitable as possible. This includes cutting unnecessary red tape, opening up new food export markets, spending more than £400m on agricultural science and fighting for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to put farming on a firm footing for the future.