Nature versus food – the big debate

The Estate Owner

ALEXANDER NEWPORT - BRADFORD ESTATES

Perhaps history has never seen two such major and contiguous events shake up national priorities: the pandemic – interpreted by many as the environment warning us that human behaviour needs to change – followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thrusting food security on to the agenda again.

I believe this potential tension belies a wider debate about 21st century UK land use for energy, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, food, development, flood alleviation and more.

Taking this question for now, the government policy aim of encouraging sustainable agriculture to arrest declining soil health, and therefore fertility, will deliver both security and environmental gains.

The past approach of subsidising every potentially farmed acre is also a false economy; some may never be economically productive for reasons such as being too wet, sandy or an irregular shape for modern machinery. Government funds should be redeployed to supporting vertical farming, agro-forestry and gene research to deliver real productivity improvements.

At Bradford Farming, we are proud to blend regenerative farming with a systematic approach to land use that aims to maintain yields and improve margins, business resilience being a key guarantor of food security.

The Politician

BARONESS KATE ROCK - CHAIR OF THE TENANCY WORKING GROUP*

Our land is subject to a growing list of demands, from longstanding ones such as housing, agriculture and food production, to more recent ones around ecosystem restoration, biodiversity gain and combating climate change. Meeting these demands on a fixed amount of land requires innovative, multi-functional solutions and new forms of government support.

Fortunately, the government has an opportunity to reassess and restructure support and incentives. However, a present risk is that the balance between nature recovery and food production is poorly managed.

Currently, two-thirds of the funding is for nature’s recovery and only one-third for encouraging sustainable production. While funding driven by demand is more appropriate, that demand will only be stimulated by a narrative showing the government is as serious about sustainable food production as it is about environmental recovery.

As chair of the Tenancy Working Group it is my responsibility to provide advice to schemes so that they allow tenant farmers to play their widely recognised role in delivering the future balance of food production, environmental improvement and climate objectives.

The Institution

VICTORIA EDWARDS - CEO, ERNEST COOK TRUST

Truly sustainable agriculture is about the environment and always has been. We need to decarbonise our industries, including agriculture, and take better care of our soil and water.

Governments need to first establish markets that function fairly and efficiently. And second, intervene when they produce public bads, like polluted water, greenhouse gases and depleted soil, or fail to produce public goods/services, such as biodiversity and flood alleviation.

Perverse incentives are distorting current markets, failing to reflect the true cost of food production (for example, reduced soil quality and biodiversity) and leaving well-produced food unable to compete.

Incentivising farmers to practice sustainable farming that lowers carbon emissions, improves soil and water quality, restores landscapes and increases biodiversity is a sensible long-term goal.

In the short term, food shortages will increase prices, disproportionately hurting lower-income sectors. Financial help to purchase food in the current markets will be needed to alleviate substantial suffering, targeting support to those in need.

The Ernest Cook Trust is working long term to further understand what sustainable farming and nutritious food looks like and how it can help our health and environment.

It’s a long journey and short-term solutions to help alleviate some sectors will be necessary, but a U-turn on agricultural policy would be a weak and short-sighted reaction.

The Lobbyist

MINETTE BATTERS - PRESIDENT, NFU

British food and farming is at the dawn of a new era. The creation of a new domestic agricultural policy means we will see the most significant changes in food production for a generation.

We need to see a strategy and a clear vision for a resilient, sustainable and productive British agricultural sector that makes the best use of our most productive agricultural land and offers an ambitious and exciting future for the sector that is good for shoppers, good for the environment and good for British farmers.

Central to this is the production of sustainable, climate-friendly British food and ensuring the right policies are in place to allow farmers and growers to lead the way in utilising new technologies that will enable them to produce this food while caring for the environment and working hand-in-hand with nature.

Government needs to understand that we need certainty and commitment. Now, more than ever, we need a plan that enables Britain to keep on farming and to continue to be a world leader in high quality, safe and sustainable food.

The Estate Manager

CLAIRE WHITFIELD - KNIGHT FRANK RURAL CONSULTANCY

The UK’s landowners and occupiers have provided food security and environmental stability to the public for centuries. With the increasing availability of imported goods, our beautiful countryside has sometimes been taken for granted in its role as supplier by consumers, while at the same time government policy has ebbed and flowed in terms of its support for agriculture.

In today’s climate of nature recovery, the landed sector now holds the key not only to providing a local food supply, but also to helping deliver on the environmental goals policymakers and consumers now desire. This opportunity to contribute to multiple goals is a great one and while government support is one avenue, the chance for landowners and occupiers to work collaboratively across multiple economic sectors is wide open.

With an increasing opportunity to connect multiple industries together to deliver a genuinely sustainable environment, now is the time for the economy to value the diverse and unique landscape in which we live for the greater long-term good.

The Farmer

DAVID SHELTON - SAXELBYE TOP FARM

In the UK, government policy is less directed towards food security than towards pursuing a net carbon zero policy, incentivising ecology, green energy and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Much was made of this at the COP26 summit in November 2021.

Farmers will naturally gravitate towards environmental land management subsidies to make up for the loss of income from the Basic Payment Scheme. However, imported food must be produced to the same high standards dictated by UK farm assurance schemes and animal welfare legislation so farmers here are not compromised.

All of the government’s policy has now been thrown into doubt following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the blockade of Ukrainian ports. More than five million tonnes of wheat, 13.7 million tonnes of maize and 4 million tonnes of sunflowers were contracted to be exported this season.

There is also the fact that 7 million hectares of spring planting is unlikely to go ahead in Ukraine. Compare this with the 3.9 million hectares sown in total in England in 2021. And it doesn’t end there, with huge price increases for gas, oil, electricity and fertiliser to contend with. Clearly, the government needs to adopt a more sustainable balance.

*An independent review established to ensure the Environmental Land Management scheme works for tenant farmers