Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to
prepare farmers for the removal of direct support over the next
decade, and (2) to equip farmers with the skills required to
adapt to a competitive trading environment.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs () (Con)
My Lords, I declare my farming interests as set out in the
register. Our agricultural transition plan explains how we will
prepare farmers for the phase-out of direct payments, using the
money freed up to offer environmental land management schemes
that will pay farmers for delivering environmental improvements.
We are offering support to help farmers adapt to the transition,
including through the future farming resilience fund. The
Government are contributing towards the establishment of the
institute for agriculture and horticulture—of which my friend,
the noble Lord, Lord Curry, is the moving force—which will drive
skills development in the industry.
(CB)
My Lords, I cannot remember a time when a feeling of uncertainty
permeated the farming industry more than it does right now:
uncertainty over the impact of trade deals, over inflation and
over the future of ELMS. When might the Government make
announcements about ELMS so that farmers can begin to plan ahead
with some confidence? Secondly, does the Minister agree that we
should use the transitional period between now and the end of the
decade to ensure that farmers come out of this process in better
shape than they went in and better equipped to deal with net
zero, the restoration of habitats and, importantly now, the
production of healthy, wholesome food to feed the nation?
(Con)
My Lords, I am absolutely convinced that farming is going to be a
profession and a skill that will be much in demand in a hungry
world. But the noble Lord is absolutely right: there is
uncertainty because of commodity price spikes internationally and
because of changes to farming systems. We are doing all we can to
skill up farmers for a different world—a different world of
support, in which they will be incentivised. We want to make sure
that they do so in a way that reflects how young people want to
go into an industry and to be skilled. I am happy to work with
the noble Lord and other noble Lords on making sure that we
understand how we can help farmers at this difficult time.
(Con)
Can my noble friend explain to the House what specific support
will be given to tenant farmers, who risk being ineligible under
the new schemes?
(Con)
My Lords, tenant farmers can access the sustainable farming
incentive, which is the entry-level scheme. Where there are
difficulties between landlord and tenant, we are seeking to iron
them out with the committee headed by my noble friend Lady Rock,
which has representatives of the Tenant Farmers Association, the
CLA and others, to make sure that tenant farmers will be a
fundamental part of future British agriculture. It is the only
way for many people to get into farming, and we want to see it
thrive.
(Lab)
My Lords, currently farmers are losing basic payments at a faster
rate than they can claim under the new sustainable farming
incentive. As a result, many of them are suffering financial
hardship. When is Defra going to increase the range of
environmental standards under ELMS that can be claimed so that
farmers can get their finances back on an even keel?
(Con)
We have announced a number of the areas of the sustainable
farming incentive, the soil standard and many others. We are
going to make further announcements in the next few weeks on
other aspects of the environmental land management schemes. We
recognise that farmers have to face price spikes—for example, in
the areas of fertiliser production—and we have brought forward
their area payments by six months, which will give them the cash
they need to purchase the inputs they need to make sure that the
next season’s growing crop is in the ground.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a farm owner. Does the
Minister agree that English farming should make every effort at
this time to maximise cereal production to offset the
Ukraine/Russia supply shortages? If so, what steps will the
Government take to ensure that this happens?
(Con)
My Lords, I have already outlined one area in which we are
helping. I am glad to say that the fertiliser production plants
in this country that were either mothballed or operating at
half-rate are producing again. We want to make sure that we are
doing all we can to reflect the global issues here. The truth is
that we are almost self-sufficient in wheat; we get very little
from Ukraine and Russia. What is happening is a human tragedy in
those countries, but it is also a tragedy in countries that
depend on them for wheat. The perverse result is a very high spot
price for wheat of £318.75 in November, which will be of huge
benefit to farmers as they plan for future years. But we have to
understand that the Ukraine crisis is causing global uncertainty,
and Britain has to be a part of resolving that.
of Hardington Mandeville
(LD)
My Lords, the removal of the CAP should be liberating, but only
when farmers are sure that the replacement will not lead to
drastically falling incomes, making food production uneconomic.
The rush for carbon offsetting is leading to the sell-off of
farms for tree plantations so that air travel can continue
unhindered. Does the Minister agree that, if farmers feel it is
more economic to sell off their land rather than continue to use
it for agriculture, surely there is something wrong with how the
Government are implementing the changeover?
(Con)
The Government want more trees planted, but we want the right
trees planted in the right way. Many of these plantings are under
the headline of environmental social governance. To me and the
Government, the “S” matters as well as the “E”. If an airline—the
noble Baroness used this as an example—is buying land and kicking
off the farmers, that may be quite “E” in terms of what they are
planting, but it is not very “S”. That is why we are taking
action to make sure that private sector investment in our natural
environment is done properly, with the proper social
underpinning.
of Dillington (CB)
My Lords, given the current reluctance of farmers to alter their
normal cropping to pick up on ELMS, would it not be a good idea
for the Government to find a way to sponsor additional FWAG
officers, and particularly to train those FWAG officers in the
field? Those last three words are the important ones because it
is all very well learning in a classroom, but FWAG officers are
enormously trusted by farmers so the new trainees have to learn
how to talk to farmers. If they could do this, it would be an
excellent way of allowing farmers to see the opportunities for
not only increased wildlife in the countryside but improving
their bottom line.
(Con)
Farming and wildlife advisory groups are incredibly valuable
because the advisers are trusted interlocutors. The noble Lord is
absolutely right that they need to be skilled both technically,
which they can learn in the classroom, but also in understanding
the practicalities of agriculture. There are a great many courses
available; more so now, as we have increased the GCSE programme
to accept environmental management. But he is right that there
needs to be a practical element to training and I am very happy
to have further conversations with him and others about this.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister has mentioned that, in the new farming
regime, farmers will be assisted and paid for environmental
improvements as well. But as he knows, our record on public
access to farmland is truly lamentable and one of the worst in
Europe. Will the Government give the House the assurance that,
when they look at the new regime, they will encourage farmers and
insist that they allow much more public access?
(Con)
I have been absolutely determined to facilitate much more access
to the countryside on my brief watch in this post, but the truth
is that we could spend ELMS 20 times over on different schemes.
We have a crisis of species decline and are one of the most
nature-depleted countries in the world. We therefore have to use
ELMS to do that. There are many other things that we could be and
are doing, but I want us to focus on how people want to access
the country. Some people do want to walk right round the coast of
England but some just want to walk out of their town on a
circular route. I want to ensure that we are working with farmers
and landowners to deliver for those sorts of people as well.
(GP)
My Lords, the Minister mentioned incentivising farmers. I would
like to know how he thinks that the Government are incentivising
farmers when they do environmentally unfriendly trade deals with
places such as Australia, which come in and undercut our farmers’
produce on animal welfare and environmental value?
(Con)
We have a firm commitment that, in all trade deals, we will not
compromise on environmental and animal welfare standards. We also
have to recognise that, if you are going to bring food right
across from the other side of the world, there is a carbon price
to pay for that. We want to make sure we are favouring local
food, produced sustainably by British farmers, and that is what
we are working to achieve.
