Food security threatened by ELM scheme, scientists warn

Defra ministers have been accused of a “dereliction of duty” following claims they are ignoring their own science and pursuing policies in England that will undermine national food security.

The claims come from the pro-science think tank Science for Sustainable Agriculture (SSA), which has written to the cross-party Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee, demanding an “urgent inquiry” into the impact of the government’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes.

The letter says a recent impact assessment of the ELM scheme, commissioned by Defra, identifies “multiple risks to both food production and the environment from its ‘land sharing’ policies”.

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Land sharing is where both food production and nature restoration are pursued on the same fields, whereas SSA favours a “land sparing” approach, maximising food production on the best land, while leaving room for nature and rewilding on more marginal land.

“For action after action, the Defra-funded report indicates that achieving environmental benefits in land managed under ELM actions can be expected to be offset by potentially more significant disbenefits elsewhere,” says the letter.

“In simple terms, it recognises that land under ELM will be less productive, which will require the missing food to be produced on other land, including in other countries, which could result in an overall environmental and food security disbenefit.”

‘Dereliction’ 

According to former NFU and Country Land and Business Association chief economist Derrick Wilkinson, the report highlights a real risk of displacement of food production from the ELM scheme.

“That such potential effects on domestic food production and security have not been given due attention amounts, in my view, to an appalling dereliction of duty by Defra,” he said.

Renowned scientific writer and Northumberland farmer Matt Ridley also pointed to the “host of unknown risks and uncertainties” revealed by the study.

He likened the land-sharing approach to medieval farming, “with fields full of weeds and pests”.

Response

Defra has dismissed the claims, however, pointing out that the impact assessment was just one of several that have fed into the development of ELM schemes.

“It assessed the impact of a long list of 750 potential actions suitable for agricultural land in England and, from these, around 200 offers were developed for our schemes,” said a spokesman.

Defra also points out that the impact assessment did not take account of the likely popularity of the various actions.

It expects the most popular will be the ones with the least impact on food production, particularly those that can be applied to marginal land.

It is also adamant that, while there may be some short-term displacement of food, longer-term food production should benefit from ELM measures designed to improve soil or mitigate climate change.

“We have always been clear, food production is the primary purpose of farming, and we are committed to continuing to produce at least 60% of the food we consume in the UK,” the spokesman added.

It is understood that the Efra committee will raise the issue of ELM, including its impact on food security, when it quizzes Defra secretary Steve Barclay in an evidence session next week.

“We are also considering holding a stand-alone evidence session on the topic,” said a spokeswoman.