The Conservatives have proposed a retirement scheme to support
farmers who wish to leave the industry, freeing up land for new
entrants. However, no analysis has been done on the number
expected to take up the scheme, nor how many new entrants will
replace them.
Questions from the Liberal Democrats have revealed that the
Government only “think” that new workers will enter the industry.
Liberal Democrats Spokesperson for Rural Affairs,
,
said:
“This news is deeply concerning. The farming industry has already
been battered by the Conservative’s mishandling of Brexit, the
failure to protect animal welfare standards and the cuts to
support payments without the replacement even being ready.
“Now the Government is encouraging people to leave the industry,
with no idea who will replace them. This risks damaging our
countryside irrevocably, with experienced land managers who have
spent their lives caring for animals and the environment leaving
the industry because the Conservatives are making it more and
more difficult to do their job.
“Liberal Democrats back British farmers. The Conservatives must
start listening to them. If they don’t, we will lose the very
people who are needed to reverse the climate and nature crisis we
are facing.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Questions put to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs are as follows:
-----
Farmers: Retirement
Q: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, what estimate the Government has made of the number of
farmers expected to retire under the Government's proposed exit
scheme.
Asked 26 May 2021
A: Our proposed lump sum exit scheme will provide support for
farmers in England who wish to exit the industry. By doing so,
this will free up land for new entrants and those farmers who
wish to expand.
In 2018, we undertook a survey of around 1,000 farmers as part of
our planning for the Agriculture Act. 6% of those surveyed said
they wanted to leave farming but felt they were not able to do so
at that time. Financial reasons were given as the main barrier.
There will be a range of factors which will affect individual
farmers' decisions about whether they wish to take the lump sum
and exit farming. The consultation will be used to gather further
evidence about likely uptake.
Our consultation can be found here: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/lump-sum-and-delinked-payments-england/.
This consultation is open until 11 August 2021.
-----
Farmers: Retirement
Q: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the
proportion of retiring farmers who will be replaced by new
entrants.
Asked 26 May 2021
A: The Government is currently carrying out a consultation on a
proposed lump sum exit scheme for farmers in England (https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/lump-sum-and-delinked-payments-england/).
This consultation is open until 11 August 2021.
We think that, by helping those farmers who wish to retire or
leave the industry to do so, this scheme will free up land for
both new entrants and expanding farmers. Our consultation will be
used to gather evidence of how the scheme could benefit both
groups of farmers.
