Rural enterprise has paid off for one small farmer, thanks to the help of a Defra grant.

Edward Cross, who farms near Kings Lynn, Norfolk, set up an organic fruit and vegetable box scheme with funding help from Defra’s Rural Enterprise Scheme.

The money was used to help improve the businesses marketing and distribution systems, and as a result the company has expanded, with both production and customers increasing.

Cross said: “My customer like to know they are buying fresh vegetables grown on the farm. The funding enabled me to build up the business so we are now supplying 140 customers per week in north and west Norfolk.

“We now have four full-time staff who help to grow the vegetables, prepare and distribute the boxes and sell through the weekly Friday market in Kings Lynn and at monthly farmers’ markets in Fakenham and Swaffham.”

The money was used to create refrigerated distribution, which Cross said has improved the quality of the produce at the point of delivery, and to create recipe booklets to help customers make the most of the produce.

He said 90 per cent of produce was grown on his own farm, with the remainder being made up of produce sourced locally.