Government promises to restore stability for farmers as confidence among sector is low
2nd August 2024
The government has announced its commitment to introduce a new deal for farmers, which aims to address their low confidence and provide stability for the farming sector.
New figures released by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs revealed that farmers’ confidence remains poor.
The data indicates that half of farmers do not feel positive about their future in farming.
Of those farmers saying they are making changes, a quarter plan to reduce the size of their businesses, and 14% plan to leave farming in the next three to five years.
The government said that the results show the need for the end of farmers being rocked by the chop as well as a change of farming schemes.
This includes optimising Environmental Land Management schemes, so they work for all farmers, including those who have been too often ignored, such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms, and action by the new government to restore stability and confidence in the sector.
READ MORE: Farmers’ confidence is at ‘all-time low’, NFU warns
Restoring stability and confidence in the sector
Defra said that the latest Farming Opinion Tracker for England gives a snapshot of the views and opinions of the sector between the end of April and the beginning of June.
The latest results show that trade agreements with other countries were a factor for 29% of farmers who made changes to their businesses.
Secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Steve Reed, said that the new government will restore stability and confidence in the sector by introducing a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security alongside nature’s recovery.
“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.
“The work of change has now begun,” he concluded.
What will the new deal include?
Defra said that the government’s new deal for farmers to boost Britain’s food security and drive rural economic growth will include:
- Optimising Environmental Land Management schemes so they produce the right outcomes for all farmers – including those who have been too often ignored, such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms – while delivering food security and nature recovery in a just and equitable way.
- Seeking a new veterinary agreement with the European Union to cut red tape at our borders and get British food exports moving again.
- Protecting farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals.
- Using the government’s purchasing power to back British produce.
- Setting up a new British Infrastructure Council to steer private investment in rural areas including broadband rollout in our rural communities.
- Speeding up the building of flood defences and natural flood management schemes, including through a new flood resilience taskforce to protect our rural homes and farms.
- Introducing a land-use framework that balances long-term food security and nature recovery.
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