Conservation groups are sounding the alarm about a significant disparity between current funding levels and the investment required to support nature, even as budget decisions maintain steady agriculture spending.
In the autumn budget, the new Labour government, pledged £5bn to fund England’s farming sector for the next two years, continuing the existing annual budget of £2.4bn for 24-25 and 25-56. With a previous underspend of £200m also being absorbed.
Funding for environmental land management schemes (ELMs) will increase to £1.8bn, replacing the old EU subsidies that focused mainly on the area of land farmed.
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The new program will emphasise nature-friendly farming practices and habitat creation.
Additionally, there will be £400m over two years for tree planting and peatland restoration, aimed at restoring habitats and capturing carbon to combat climate change.
However, the decision not to invest further in agriculture, as pressures mount to create a sustainable future for the industry and reduce climate change, has drawn criticism from many within the sector.
Tom Lancaster, from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) stated that the budget will “maintain the status quo, just about keeping the show on the road for now”.
As an analyst, focusing on land, food and farming Tom stated that much needed investment must be forthcoming to safeguard the industry against the threats of climate change and ensure that environmental targets are met.
Mr Lancaster said: "Much more funding will be needed at the next spending review to support farmers, avoid jeopardising climate targets and boost the resilience of farming to climate impacts like the devastating wet winter we experienced this year," he concluded.
Elliot Chapman-Jones, head of public affairs for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Nature-friendly farming is central to both nature recovery and food security.
“However, the overall farming budget remains largely the same, which makes the necessary improvements needed for nature much harder to achieve.”
He outlined that the budget was not in line with inflation and that to ensure nature-friendly farming in just England, the budget per year would need to be around £3.1bn.
“Ultimately, there is a monumental gap between current funding and what is needed to reverse wildlife declines, clean up rivers and significantly reduce the use of chemicals on farms,” he added.
Country Land and Business Association’s (CLA) president Victoria Vyvyan said that maintaining the budget at the same level, stagnant since 2014, would hit farmers hard, and the accelerated move from the old system of payments could prevent further investment in farming across the country.
Referring to the lack of financial support to the sector she said: “It could hit sustainable food production and undermine improvements to wildlife habitats, flood management and access to nature.”
Looking more favourably on the budget, Martin Lines, chief executive of Nature Friendly Farming was pleasantly surprised by the decision to sustain the budget. In the lead up to the announcement he stated he was sceptical and that there was more positive news “than we could have hoped for”.
He believes that: "Increasing funding and prioritising nature-friendly farming will help put agriculture on a more sustainable footing and enable the changes required to continue feeding our nation as climate change presents ongoing challenges.”
But warned that the current levels of spending do exceed that of the outlined budget.
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