- Ministers must establish ‘new deal’ for farmers in a
post-Brexit settlement that secures livelihoods and the natural
environment, says report
- Farmers are key to addressing the climate and nature crises
but at the moment agriculture is the leading cause of
biodiversity loss
- Government must support farmers to navigate multiple
challenges: Brexit, new technology, ageing workforce and
environmental impacts
- Report comes as leaks reveal environment department does not
have a plan to meet targets for lower emissions or support
farmers through transition
Now the UK has left the EU’s agricultural schemes, the government
should seize the opportunity to transform farming to protect the
environment and secure the livelihoods of farmers, according to a
new IPPR report.
Instead of the current farm subsidies that support the status
quo, IPPR argues that the new system the government is developing
should better encourage and reward farmers for taking responsible
action that cuts pollution and enhances our natural landscapes.
In the UK, agriculture contributes at least 10 per cent of
greenhouse emissions and is the leading cause of biodiversity
loss. Farmers will need to be supported to play a leading role in
the UK’s net zero ambitions, but earlier this month it was
revealed that the
environment department had no plans for how to lower farming
emissions yet.
As well as the climate and nature crises, farmers are facing
their biggest upheaval in 50 years as the UK leaves the EU
payment schemes and forges new trade deals. The sector is also
grappling with a rapidly ageing workforce. The think tank argues
that now is the opportune moment for the government to support
farmers to face these multiple challenges with a new deal
for farming.
To ensure all policies are fair to farmers and rural communities,
the government must actively involve them in shaping the
transition to a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable farming
future. IPPR’s proposals for a fair transition include:
-
Financial support – The government’s plans for
paying farmers for managing their farms in a way that benefits
the environment, such as planting trees and hedgerows to
capture carbon, managing soil better, improving biodiversity
and preserving key species and animal breeds, must be clarified
and improved. There is a clear risk that as currently proposed,
the scheme will only support business as usual. Financial
support schemes need to be designed to be accessible to the
majority of farmers, but with sufficient incentives to progress
and meet even more ambitious environmental targets. Public
money shouldn’t be used to fund farms that aren’t providing a
benefit to the public.
Plenty of advice, training and support should be provided to help
farmers plan for the future and meet more ambitious targets.
-
Rural life – Support communities with more
investment in housing, clean transport options and ensuring
superfast broadband connections.
-
Future farmers – Support more young people and
people from more diverse backgrounds to get into farming by
encouraging community ownership of farms and land sharing
schemes when existing owners retire.
-
Trade -
New trade deals should set high standards for animal welfare
and the preservation of nature. They should also protect
British farmers by not allowing unfettered access to UK markets
for food produced to lower environmental standards.
Luke Murphy, head of the IPPR Environmental Justice
Commission, said:
“Farmers will need to play a vital role if the UK is to reach
net zero, but right now farms are making the climate crisis
worse.
“If farming is to be at the vanguard of the battle against
climate change and for the recovery of nature, then responsible
farming must be profitable, it has to offer good livelihoods for
farmers and workers, and for farms of different types and
sizes.
“To see this realised, the government must step up to support
current and future farmers through the many changes they are
facing.”
Fraser Hugill, farmer and independent farm advisor, based
in North Yorkshire, said:
"My take home message from the report is a need to make
better connections between farmers and consumers so our supply
chains reward nature and climate friendly farming. Government
must provide a fit for purpose environmental scheme that supports
greener more equitable farming that is not undermined by
exporting our environmental responsibilities to other parts of
the world."
Marcus Nyman, senior research fellow at IPPR and senior
policy officer at RSPB, said:
“With over 70 per cent of UK land used for farming,
agriculture will have a critical role if we are to have any hope
of tackling the climate and nature crises or meeting the UK’s
ambition to be a world leader on the environment. But the more we
ask UK farmers to deliver, the more we should be supporting them
along the way – through public money, advice and support, and
what we buy in the weekly shop. That’s not only fair but also in
all of our interests.
