Make gardening inclusive

Minorities should be encouraged, says top food producer

- Ruth Hayes

DEVON farmer and award-winning food producer Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE, also known as The Black Farmer, has spoken about the importance of allotments and having space to grow your own fresh fruit and veg.

He is also driving a movement to encourage more young people, especially those from ethnic minorities, to take up growing and become involved in rural communities.

His statement comes after the National Allotment Society (NAS) reported a massive spike in allotment interest as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown.

Wilfred was born in Jamaica and brought up in inner-city Birmingham. He started working in the food industry before joining the BBC’s Food and Drink programme. He later went on to realising his dream farming, buying land near Launceston in Cornwall.

The Cornish community initially called him ‘the black farmer’ and he gave the name to his award-winning range of meat products.

Wilfred has also launched a scholarship scheme that encourages ethnic minorities to find work in rural communities where they are widely under-represented. He was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours for services for farming.