Public spending on nature-friendly farming must significantly increase if the UK is to meet its environmental commitments, new research has concluded.
Increasing investment in nature-friendly farming to £5.9bn each year across the UK is essential to meet legally binding nature and climate targets and improve the resilience of the UK farming industry, according to independent analysiscommissioned by RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts.
The current annual agricultural budget is £3.5bn, which remains unchanged since 2013, with approximately 20-25% currently spent on agri-environment schemes that benefit nature, the report found.
The analysis is based on a model that estimates the scale of land management activity needed to meet a range of objectives for biodiversity, climate change, landscape, the historic environment, water quality, and soil protection set by the four UK governments. It then applies equations to estimate the cost of delivering these.
With 70% of the UK farmed, the environmental groups said farmers have a crucial role to play in nature recovery. They are calling on the new UK Government to increase the overall agricultural budget, and for the UK and devolved governments to then increase investment in nature-friendly farming. They say this will also pave the way for private finance to further bolster the budget.
“Investing in nature restoration is a necessary, long-term strategy that will help to future proof UK farming, while also mitigating against the wider impacts of climate change,” said Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts.
“Restoring habitats can help protect communities from flooding. Protecting soils on farms helps to reduce run-off and clean up rivers. Landscapes full of wildlife lift our spirits and promote wellbeing, while also underpinning food production. The huge return on increasing investment in nature-friendly farming must be realised, and fast.”
Ahead of the recent general election, both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats pledged an increase in the farming budget but Labour did not.
The National Farmers Union last week warned of a “cliff edge” over future funding if Labour does not commit to at least maintain the agriculture budget for England at its current level. Labour has said it will not comment on the agriculture budget until after the spending review later this year.
