Consumer support for farmers at record high
AS a new era dawns for British farming, industry leaders have spoken about the importance of “getting the next chapter right”
Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said public backing for the nation’s farmers and growers is at a “record high”, with over a million people signing the organisation’s food standards petition and a huge increase in support for farm shops and local producers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In her New Year message, the Westcountry farmer described 2020 as “a year like no other”, and thanked consumers for their continued support of British farming and all it delivers.
“We simply wouldn’t be where we are today without it,” she added. “From farmers and growers keeping shelves full of British food at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, to more than a million people signing up to a petition that demanded our world-leading standards are not undercut in future trade deals, it is clear the British public care deeply about where their food comes from and how it is produced.
“Public backing for British farming is at a record high and that is why it is so important that we get the next chapter right.”
Mrs Batters, who runs an arable and livestock farm in Wiltshire, also said the successful conclusion of a Brexit deal between the UK and European Union, announced on Christmas Eve, is a “very positive step forward” and should “provide comfort to both farmers and to the public”.
“It forms the start of a new and different trading relationship with the EU and countries across the world, and I look forward to working with Government to ensure we all benefit from the opportunities this new era presents,” she explained.
“There will undoubtedly be challenges to overcome, with images of disruption at the border due to Covid-19 restrictions still fresh in our minds. With traders now facing extra costs and complexity with new checks and additional paperwork for food exports, it is important that Government does all it can to prioritise exports of our high quality, perishable agricultural products to make sure that this food is not left languishing in queues at the border when the changes take effect on January 1.”
Mrs Batters goes on to highlight that the New Year will see the Government implement its own agriculture policy for the first time in 70 years, following the passing of the Agriculture Act 2020 into law on November 11. This will also bring a “seismic shift” in the way farming is supported, she added, as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) subsidy system is gradually phased out and replaced with a new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which will reward farmers and land managers with public money for ‘public goods’ such as better air and water quality, improved soil health, measures to reduce flooding or tackle the effects of climate change.
“It’s now crucial that the Government works with farm businesses to ensure the new Environmental Land Management scheme it is planning is fit for purpose, meaning Britain’s farmers can continue to produce food, while protecting and enhancing our environment,” she said. And she warned the biggest challenge came from climate change.