The Cumbria Fells and Dales LEADER+ Programme is committed to giving help and financial support to farmers and local producers who are seeking new and different ways in which they can "add value to local products".

Before the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, our rural areas were showing cracks. Farm incomes and agricultural employment were declining rapidly. FMD pushed the area over the edge, highlighting also the dependence tourism has on the environment.

As Cumbria moves forward, a new relationship is forming between tourism and the farmed environment. But the farming community needs more than that. For farming to survive, some major changes need to occur. There is a move underway to a less intensive and more environmentally friendly way of farming. A way of farming where animals do not have to travel so far; where local farmers markets thrive; where local produce also appears in farm shops and in other shops around the county; where farmers are reaping proper rewards for the environmental output of the hills (which is the foundation for tourism and Cumbrian society's quality of life).

At LEADER+ we take a wide view of local produce and seek to increase connections between local producers and rest of the community. In the past two years, we have committed over £1.5million in support to over 100 projects … and are still going strong.