IN 2006 a group of young Scottish farmers and professionals with rural backgrounds joined together to raise money to help small scale farmers in Eastern Africa – and the Highlands and Pridelands ball was born.

Four years, three charity balls and a drinks party later – and the group have just added another £40,000 from their latest and hugely successful Highlands and Pridelands Ball into their charity-pot which raises their running total to just under the £100,000 mark, since 2006, for the charity FARM-Africa.

With the Ball going from strength to strength and fast becoming one of the must attend events on the Scottish rural social calendar – the 2010 committee, led by Robert Mackenzie, of Cullisse, Easter Ross, were delighted that their latest event was once again able support the Food and Agricultural Research Management – Africa charity which uses the money raised to bring about real change in African rural communities, transforming lives, and building a brighter future for some of the world’s poorest people.

Alongside Robert, all but one of the lads on the committee are graduates of the SAC in Edinburgh – with the 2010 committee including salad and ware potato and cereal farmer James Brunton and his sister Lynsey Brunton, of Cuthlie Farm, Arbroath; potato, cereal and livestock farmer James Fleming, of Aberbothrie, Alyth; and Dronley Farm’s Euan Grewar, who grows seed, organic and ware potatoes; with Arbroath’s Anna Black, of Backboath; Caroline Black who works for Angus Soft Fruits and Katy Buchan, from Coupar Angus.

Previous committee members also include Peter Lyburn; Mungo Laing; Fiona Ferguson; Sophie Colville; Scott Hadden; Angus Burt; and Gill Greenwood.

Guests were piped into the prestigious Assembly Rooms on Edinburgh’s George Street, to the accompaniment of African drumming and following a champagne reception, progressed into the dining room to the sound of the Zawadi African Woman’s Choir.

Wild Thyme provided the catering for the event, spoiling guests with Steve Mitchell’s Puddledub Buffalo, followed by slow roasted shoulder of lamb from Simon Howie’s of Perth – while entertainment was provided from the ceilidh band, Kilter.

But while ensuring that their guests thoroughly enjoyed the evening – at the heart of the night for the committee was the serious need to raise money for farmers in Africa.

Robert Mackenzie, chairman of the Highlands and Pridelands committee, who also works as a full time trainee solicitor with Solicitors and Asset Managers, Turcan Connell explained: “The committee share with FARM-Africa the vision of a prosperous rural Africa, where farmers and herders can improve their lives and the lives of their families and communities, not just for today, but for the long term.

“The committee were delighted to be supporting this inspiring and highly effective charity once again.”

He explained that FARM-Africa’s innovative programmes provide training and technical support to help rural communities in Eastern Africa manage their crops, livestock, forests and water in better ways by identifying and implementing appropriate solutions to the problems they face. At the heart of the charity’s strategy is the use of experience gained through smaller projects to develop models of good practice, which can be adopted and replicated above and beyond FARM-Africa’s programmes.

Taking to the rostrum at the 2010 Highlands and Pridelands Ball to knock-down the non-silent auction lots of the evening, was NFU Scotland president Jim McLaren, who described the evening as “all-in-all a hugely successful evening for an extremely worthy cause”.

Mr McLaren added that guest speaker for the evening, the renowned broadcaster and long-term supporter of the FARM-Africa, Kate Adie, spoke eloquently and justly about her experiences of the substantial difference that the charity can make to the whole economic dynamic of a family in Africa. She talked of the charity’s Dairy Goat project and how simply by being able to provide families with a foot on the farming ladder by, for example, giving them the opportunity to receive a goat on credit and the knowledge and support of how to thrive from such a starting point, you in fact give a family the much more valuable symbol of value and status within their communities.

And, according to Mr McLaren, Kate Adie most certainly inspired the generosity of the guests which led to his hammer falling on six lots – drawing in a substantial £12,000 for charity to level out at an average of £2000. These hugely popular lots included a Luci Maclaren oil painting from her shooting series; two days hind stalking and accommodation for four on the Scardroy Estate in Strathconnon; tickets to see the filming of the summer Top Gear television series; and a one-week holiday for the exclusive use of Lynton Hall a Victorian Castle which lies on the Indian Ocean Coast of South Africa.

The remaining 46 lots were auctioned silently, producing a further £16,000, to average £347, throughout the night.

Attracting the best of the bidding was, unsurprisingly, the holiday to Lynton Hall, which sold for £6000; with the stalking, fishing and shooting stays throughout Scotland also attracting plenty of bidding. The Top Gear tickets sold for £1200, a price which was equalled by the sale of ANTA Scotland’s generous offer for the creation of a unique Tartan which will be named after the successful bidder. A House of Lords Whisky, which was signed by The Right Honourable Baroness Thatcher sold for just under £150 and a limited edition pair of Rossignol Olympic skis were knocked down for £500.

After the success of the ball, FARM-Africa’s chief executive, Dr Christie Peacock concluded that: “Yet again, the Ball proved the Scottish farming community’s unstinting support of farmers in eastern Africa.”

Dr Peacock thanked the committee for their hard work and committed support for FARM-Africa and said the charity was “grateful and proud to be the beneficiary of the Highlands and Pridelands Ball.”

• The now bi-annual event will hold its fourth Ball in 2012 and those who would like to be included on the guest list should email their postal address to Robert Mackenzie at cullisse_robert@hotmail.com