Partnership launched to build flood resilience on farms
© GNP A new cross-industry partnership has been launched to help farmers and rural communities in England adapt to increasing climate-related flood risks.
The Rural Flood Resilience Partnership (RFRP) involves six key organisations: the NFU, the Country Land and Business Association, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Action with Communities in Rural England, and the Association of Drainage Authorities.
See also: Q&A: What are your rights when farmland is flooded?
Farmers in England experienced 18 months of relentless rainfall from September 2023 to May 2024, during which more rain fell than at any time since records began in 1836.
The unprecedented flooding left many thousands of acres of productive farmland under water, causing a disastrous impact on crop yields and a significant reduction in vegetable and fruit production.
Together, the partnership aims to improve flood resilience through a comprehensive work plan from 2024 to 2026.
Key objectives of the partnership include:
- Developing an evidence base to inform decision-making on flood resilience
- Providing quality advice and support to rural communities and landowners
- Engaging rural communities in flood resilience projects.
Through collaboration, the partners hope to implement solutions that go beyond what any single organisation can achieve alone, drawing on their collective expertise in land and water management, nature-based solutions, and local community engagement.
NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos said: “Farmers are on the front line of climate change – our biggest challenge.
“The extreme weather this brings is one of the main threats to UK food security and more severe storms, devastating floods, and increased periods of little or no rain are all impacting our ability to produce food.”
Mrs Hallos hopes the partnership will provide practical, evidence-based solutions to the challenges farmers and rural communities face due to flooding.
But she says flood-hit farm businesses are “in dire need of support”, and the NFU is awaiting details from Defra on how the Farming Recovery Fund can help those businesses recover from the impacts of the devastating flooding and saturated ground.
Recovery fund stalemate
The NFU understands that the UK government has only paid the first element of the fund (about £2m), but the expanded offer promised to farmers (a total pot of £50m) has not.
The uncertainty comes amid a £22bn public funding “black hole” in Treasury coffers.
In an answer to a question by Lord Mott on the status of the fund on 17 September, Defra Lords minister Baroness Hayman said her government would be announcing further details “shortly”.