Agricology is the focus for the Organic Research Centre’s (ORC) Big Give Christmas Challenge and the target is to raise £15,000 in just 1 week! These funds will go towards ORC’s ‘The Future of Farming’ appeal.

The aim of ‘The Future of Farming’ appeal is to expand ORC’s knowledge exchange programme to pro-actively engage with all the farmers who have yet to consider how to farm in an environmentally sustainable way and provide them with the information and guidance they need to make the change.

The agricultural sector is often cited as a contributor to climate change and many farmers feel pressurised to address this. However, whilst farmers are only too aware of the effects of climate change on the environment and on their own livelihoods, only 56% of farmers are currently taking action to reduce their climate impact. This is because many are concerned about the practicalities and economic viability of converting to regenerative farming.

By providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for all the relevant information on adopting sustainable farming methods ORC aim to remove as many barriers, real or perceived, as possible from the decision process and encourage a significant uptake in sustainable farming.

Donations to 'The Future of Farming appeal' will be generously matched by The Big Give’s Champions during the campaign, meaning your money will go twice as far.

We are hoping to raise a total of £15,000 from the Christmas Challenge. In order to access the £7,500 we have in the matching pot, we need to raise £7,500 in online donations. All support would be greatly appreciated and make a real difference to our work in encouraging the widespread adoption of sustainable farming methods

For more information, please contact Sarah Barrett supporters@organicresearchcentre.com

Organic Research Centre

The Organic Research Centre (ORC) is an independent research charity working for better and more sustainable farming systems that protect the environment and provide good food for everyone. It drives its own research agenda to tackle global issues by acting locally and finding community-based solutions for farmers and their supply chains. Its vision is that, together, we’ll deliver the transition to naturally healthy and resilient farming systems by:

• Leading change by connecting and collaborating internally and externally across our networks of researchers and farmers
• Bringing new thinking to the mainstream by developing nature positive solutions through pioneering and rigorous independent research
• Empowering people to embrace different ideas by translating our research into practical application and advice, influencing policymakers, farming communities and wider society
• Demonstrating the economic as well as the environmental rationale for an alternative approach to improve livelihoods and social impact

Established in 1980, for over 40 years the charity has played a central role in the development of organic food and farming research, knowledge exchange, policy and standard setting through:

• Participatory research
• Sharing knowledge
• Influencing policy

For further information on the ORC please visit: https://www.organicresearchcentre.com/

About the Big Give Christmas Challenge

The Big Give Trust is a registered charity (1136547) whose mission is to promote causes and inspire people to give through theBigGive.org.uk, a crowdfunding platform for charities specialising in match funding. Big Give’s annual flagship campaign, The Christmas Challenge, is the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign.

For seven days, it offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to have their donations doubled. The match funds come from two sources - charities secure pledges of support over the summer. The funds are then boosted by funds from a Big Give Champion who contributes to the match fund pot. The collective pot is used to double donations from online supporters when the campaign is live. #ChristmasChallenge22 // One donation, twice the impact.

For further information on the Big Give please visit: https://www.thebiggive.org.uk