Agriculture Bill
“My Ministers will work to implement new regimes for
fisheries, agriculture and trade, seizing
the opportunities that arise from leaving the European
Union.”
The purpose of the Bill is to:
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Reform UK agriculture policy, putting the interests of
farmers and land managers, the environment and taxpayers at its
core.
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Replace the current subsidy system, which simply pays
farmers based on the total amount of land farmed, and instead
reward them for the work they do to enhance the environment and
produce high quality food in a more sustainable way.
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Support farmers and land managers to ensure a smooth and
gradual transition away from the bureaucratic Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) to a system where farming efficiently
and improving the environment go hand and hand.
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Set out the framework for a new Environmental Land
Management scheme, underpinned by the payment of public money
for public goods.
The main benefits of the Bill would
be:
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Rewarding farmers and land managers for delivering public
goods including improved water quality, increased biodiversity
and better public access to our countryside.
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Championing British food with a transparent and fair
supply chain from farm to fork.
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Rewarding farmers who protect our environment. This will
significantly contribute to the goals of our 25 year
Environment Plan and to reaching net zero carbon
emissions.
The main elements of the Bill are:
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A seven-year agricultural transition period to gradually
reduce Direct Payments. Transitional schemes will enable
investment in new equipment, technology and infrastructure to
support change during this period.
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Introducing schemes paying for public goods including
environmental protection, access to the countryside, and work
to reduce flooding.
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18Powers to strengthen transparency and
fairness in the supply chain, to set common marketing
standards, recognise Producer Organisations and to ensure
compliance with the UK’s international obligations at the
WTO.
Territorial extent and application
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The Bill's provisions would apply to England, with some
provisions extending and applying across the UK. The Bill’s
provisions will also apply to Wales and Northern Ireland at the
request of Welsh Government Ministers and the Department of
Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Key facts
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72 per cent of the total land area in the UK is actively
farmed.
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Agriculture contributes around £8.6 billion to the UK
economy and employs 1.5 per cent of the workforce.
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The Bill will free the UK from the restrictions of the EU
CAP after almost 50 years.
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CAP has impeded productivity and stifled innovation in
the farming sector, and failed to protect the environment. For
example, agriculture currently contributes more than 88 per
cent of UK ammonia emissions and farmland bird numbers have
declined by 54 per cent since 1970.
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Although agri-environment schemes have demonstrated good
value for money (delivering £4 for every £1 spent), only a
small proportion of overall funding from the CAP is currently
spent on environmental outcomes.
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We have received over 100 tests and trials proposals for
the first phase of the trials of the new Environmental Land
Management scheme, and over 200 for the second phase. We are
taking 44 forward in the first phase - these will help us to
test critical elements of the new scheme.
