Government must back UK fruit and veg and organic
The Soil Association welcomes today’s announcement that the new government will introduce a new deal for farmers to “address low confidence and provide stability” for UK farmers. We now call for more support for horticulture and organic.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has today (Thursday 1 August) released figures that show farmer confidence remains poor. The data indicates that half of farmers don’t feel positive about their future in farming. Of those farmers saying they are making changes, a quarter of plan to reduce the size of their businesses and 14% plan to leave farming in the next 3-5 years.
In response, the government has announced that they will be providing stability for farmers by optimising the post-Brexit farm support policy known as the Environmental Land Management schemes.
In a statement, the government said they will ensure the schemes work for all farmers and committed to introducing a land-use framework that "balances long-term food security and nature recovery" while using the government's "purchasing power" to back British produce.
It also said they would "get British food exports moving again" while protecting farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals.
British farming is vulnerable
Welcoming the announcement, Soil Association Policy Director Brendan Costelloe said: “It has never been more important for the UK government to back British farmers, so we welcome today’s commitment to restore farmers’ confidence. Food production in the UK is threatened by climate change, and we cannot just import from overseas as every country faces similar challenges. Our farmers are custodians of 70% of the UK – we won’t solve the climate, nature and diet-related public health crises without them. But farming is vulnerable, with too few farmers able to invest in making it more resilient.”
The Soil Association is particularly pleased to see a renewed commitment to a land use framework, which will allow us to think about food production on a landscape scale and decide what and how we should farm, in which location.
As highlighted in an open letter to Keir Starmer last week, the Soil Association is calling for support to get more British produce on our plates. The campaign urges government to introduce a target to double the land used for British fruit and veg production using nature-friendly methods, including in and around our towns and cities.
The charity also welcomes the plans to use the government’s purchasing power to back UK produce. British schools and hospitals should be prioritising British and nature-friendly farmers, like organic – as caterers working with Food for Life are doing.
Costelloe added: “We urgently need more – not less – home-grown fruit and veg, or we face further disaster for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment. And with more wildlife on organic farms, Westminster must catch up with Europe and Scotland by setting a target to increase the only certifiable form of regenerative farming. Rising demand for organic food should not be provided by imports when it could be produced by our own farmers.
“After years of uncertainty, farmers need stability so they can invest in resilient, nature-friendly food production, so we welcome the commitment to stick with the Sustainable Farming Incentives policy, and action to prevent trade deals from undercutting sustainable British farmers. We urge this new government to go further in ensuring farm support policy also helps to protect farmers from the shocks of climate change. This must involve greater support for farmers to incorporate more trees on farms and to improve soil health – both of which are essential in the face of extreme weather.”