U-turn on farming reform is bad news for all
NEWS that the Government has broken its promise to reform farming policy is worrying and upsetting, but sadly not a surprise. The Government’s National Food Strategy, published last week, suggests that their commitment to invest in a transformation of farming policy to tackle the nature and climate crises and restore nature at scale has effectively been abandoned.
Funds previously earmarked to reward landowners who want to take more ambitious and large-scale approaches to benefit the environment and climate on their land will instead go towards meeting only basic environmental standards.
Food security is important to us all, and current world events and the cost of living crisis bring the importance of home grown food into ever sharper focus.
Sadly the strategy fails to recognise the threats to food security posed by biodiversity loss and climate change, despite these being identified as “the biggest medium to long term risk to the UK’S domestic production” in the UK Food Security Report produced last year.
Decades of outdated farming policies have left us with degraded soils, polluted rivers and the extreme loss of wildlife, including vital pollinators. We must ensure that short-term decisions do not prevent a long-term progressive shift in policy.
Global food systems depend on thriving natural systems to provide healthy soils, plentiful safe water, a stable climate and beneficial pollinators.
Supporting farmers to shift to more nature friendly farming is key to future food security for us all. The Government has repeatedly stated its commitment to a progressive agricultural transition and we must ensure that the apparent volte-face presented by the new strategy does not come to pass.
Surely it is time for taxpayers’ money to be used to reward farmers to grow food in a way that is good for nature, rather than harming it. Without a change of direction, the food strategy will ultimately fail. If nature continues to decline, the prospect of long-term food security is undermined.
Henry Dimbleby’s independent review of the National Food Strategy made plain the impacts that our unsustainable food systems are having on cherished wildlife, but the Government seems to have chosen to ignore his recommendations.
Instead of propping up a failing system and breaking promises to restore nature at scale we should be going further, faster to ensure farmers are properly supported to restore nature.
Whilst there are warm words about the need to restore biodiversity in the strategy, it is short on crucial detail. It also seems that the
funding available for large-scale programmes such as the reintroduction of lost species to restore natural balance to our ecosystems or enabling farmers to work together across catchments to help heal our rivers, has been slashed.
Moving forward with such a narrow focus on food production will lock farmers in to an outdated system reliant on imports of fossil fuel based fertiliser and leave farmers vulnerable to shocks in the global system. It will also hold back farmers that want to work in nature friendly ways and will mean more money going to the biggest and richest farmers. We know many farmers want to do more and are working closely with farmers and landowners across the county to create a wilder Nottinghamshire, but they must have the financial support to be able to operate sustainable businesses whilst doing more for nature and the environment.
As well as many enlightened farmers wanting to work in nature friendly ways, consumers support nature-friendly production too and there are signs that elements within the food industry also understand this need for change.
What we all need is leadership and support from Government to drive change – not a damaging U-turn.
Warning: Jessie Wallace