New government pledges to reverse low farmer confidence
Defra secretary Steve Reed © Karl Black/Alamy Stock Photo The Labour government has promised its “new deal for farmers” will restore stability and ailing confidence in the agricultural sector.
The pledge from Defra secretary Steve Reed comes as figures from the department reveal that half of farmers in England do not feel optimistic about their future in farming.
A significant portion are planning to reduce the size of their businesses or exit the sector entirely within the next few years, according to the findings of Defra’s latest Farming Opinion Tracker for England.
See also: ‘Halt BPS cuts’ says NFU as farmer confidence plummets
Economic instability, extreme weather events, rising costs and damaging trade deals have all contributed to a collapse in farmer confidence.
The latest Defra results show that trade agreements with other countries were a factor for 29% of farmers who made changes to their business.
The bleak outlook comes weeks after the NFU’s Farmer Confidence Survey revealed the confidence of farmers in England and Wales is at an all-time low.
‘Work of change’ under way
Defra secretary Steve Reed admitted confidence among farmers is “extremely low”, but said the “work of change” has begun in his government to turn things around.
“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,” said Mr Reed.
“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.”
7 key policies of Labour’s new deal for farming
- Optimising Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes: Tailoring these schemes to ensure they work effectively for all farmers, including those typically neglected, to deliver both food security and nature recovery
- New veterinary agreement with the EU: Seeking to reduce bureaucratic hurdles at borders to facilitate smoother British food exports
- Protection from trade deals: Ensuring that farmers are not undermined by low welfare and low standards in trade agreements
- Government purchasing power: Leveraging government procurement to support British produce, boosting domestic demand
- British Infrastructure Council: Establishing this council to direct private investment in rural areas, including enhancing broadband access in rural communities
- Flood defenses and resilience: Accelerating the development of flood defences and implementing natural flood management schemes through a new flood resilience taskforce to protect rural homes and farms
- Land Use Framework: Introducing a balanced approach to land use that secures long-term food security while promoting nature recovery.