Government pledges ‘a new deal for farmers’ with raft of commitments

The Labour government has announced its commitment to introduce what it calls “a new deal for farmers” to address low confidence and provide stability for the sector.

Food and farming secretary Steve Reed made a series of commitments on the back of new Defra figures indicating poor confidence among the nation’s farmers. The data indicates that half of farmers don’t feel positive about their future in the industry.

Of those farmers saying they are making changes, a quarter plan to reduce the size of their businesses and 14 per cent plan to leave farming in the next three to five years.

Reed said the results “make clear the need for the end of farmers being rocked by the chop and change of farming schemes”. The steps he announced include:

• Optimising ELM schemes so they produce the right outcomes for all farmers - including small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms - while delivering food security and nature recovery in a just and equitable way.
• Seeking a new veterinary agreement with the European Union to cut red tape at the UK’s borders and get British food exports moving again.
• Protecting farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals.
• Using the government’s purchasing power to back British produce.
• Setting up a new British Infrastructure Council to steer private investment in rural areas including broadband rollout in rural communities.
• Speeding up the building of flood defences and natural flood management schemes, including through a new flood resilience taskforce to protect rural homes and farms.
• Introducing a land-use framework that balances long-term food security and nature recovery.

“Confidence amongst farmers is extremely low,” Reed said. ”The new government will restore stability and confidence in the sector, introducing a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security alongside nature’s recovery.  

“We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, prevent shock rises in bills by switching on GB Energy, better protect them from flooding through a new Flood Resilience Taskforce and use the government’s own purchasing power to back British produce. The work of change has now begun.”

‘More fruit and veg needed’, says Soil Association

The Soil Association welcomed Reed’s announcement, saying it was particularly pleased to see a renewed commitment to a land-use framework and the plans to use the government’s purchasing power to back UK produce. 

However the organic body reiterated its call to prioritise fruit and vegetable production. “We urgently need more – not less – homegrown fruit and veg, or we face further disaster for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment,” said Soil Association policy director Brendan Costelloe. “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.”

British Berry Growers welcomes commitments

Nick Marson, chairman of British Berry Growers, also welcomed the commitments, in particular the pledge to optimise ELM schemes, adding that he hoped that would include horticultural crops.

“We also welcome the commitment to protect growers from being undercut in trade deals,” he continued. “This is a positive step towards rebuilding confidence in the industry, and we hope to see the government continue to take positive action across their regime, such as by extending the seasonal worker visa scheme with an extension of visas from six to nine months, and by facilitating a simpler way to export British produce overseas.”