THERE can be no doubt that the foot-and-mouth crisis will leave behind a legacy of despair.

The personal tragedies to hundreds of farmers across our region are well documented.

But two separate reports published yesterday graphically illustrate the sheer scale of the tragedy in rural communities.

While much of the national focus has been on the disease hot-spots of Cumbria and Devon, no one must overlook the devastation in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Official figures show that over a quarter of a million farm animals - a tenth of all livestock - have been culled in the North-East. In North Yorkshire almost 150,000 animals have been slaughtered.

Fears that it will take up to three years for farms to be fully restocked appear justified.

But the impact of the epidemic reaches further than simply the farms and the farmers.

Figures from the Country Land and Business Association claim that rural businesses are losing an average of £20,000 a month.

With some incomes halved it is inevitable that some businesses will go to the wall. Others will have to cut back drastically. Employment prospects, traditionally limited in rural areas, will be even bleaker.

Once the epidemic is at an end, it will be time to appraise what future course rural economies will take.

The first task must be to pinpoint the source, or sources, of this epidemic, and examine why it spread so quickly and so far.

Lessons must be learned to reduce the risk of an outbreak. And if and when an outbreak occurs in the future it must be contained swiftly and effectively.

Equally important is the implementation of a regeneration programme to heal the economic wounds inflicted on rural communities.

There is a need for a two-prong approach. The first must be to offer a lifeline to existing businesses struggling to survive.

But the second must be to target support to the establishment of new businesses which offer the hope of long-term job creation.

One lesson learned from foot-and-mouth is that if rural economies are more diversified they have a better chance of meeting the challenge of a crisis.