Alzheimer’s and farming charities win FUW support

THE Farmers’ Union of Wales has announced its support for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru and the Farming Community Network (FCN) as its next presidential charities.

FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “Dementia is a growing health problem – one in six people over the age of 80 have dementia and there are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK.

“With an anticipated increase in the number of cases of 156% between now and 2051, it equates to two million people – and the burden will fall on rural areas, where there are significantly higher proportions of elderly people. So this not something that we can ignore and more research is desperately needed.

“We also want to continue our pledge to support farmers who need support in difficult times and raise awareness of mental health problems in rural communities.

“In our places of work we’ve faced some pretty low points in the last few years. Bovine TB, price volatility and uncertainty about our future post-Brexit – this all puts a strain on our resolve and will have many feeling stressed and under immense pressure.”

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the number of deaths from the condition, saving 30,000 lives a year.

Stacey Hawdon, Alzheimer’s Society senior regional corporate partnerships executive (Wales), said: “Of the 45,000 people affected by dementia in Wales, we calculate that at least a third live in a rural area, which can bring about an additional set of challenges for families affected by dementia such as support services being less likely to be commissioned in rural areas, poor transport links make it harder to access help and carers are more likely to feel isolated and unsupported.”

The Farming Community Network (FCN) is a charity that supports farmers and families in the farming community through difficult times. FCN is a network of over 400 volunteers, with around 40 based in Wales, many of whom are involved in farming or have close links with agriculture and have an understanding of the issues farmers and farming families regularly face.

FCN Wales regional director David Williams said: “FCN relies on donations in order to continue providing practical and pastoral support to farmers and farming families throughout Wales.

“With Welsh farming facing substantial changes and great uncertainty over the next few years, we are anticipating a significant increase in the workload of our volunteers throughout Wales.”