Make UK farming sustainable to help save the planet- report

The UK’s entire farming and food system must become sustainable by 2030 if the country is to tackle the climate change crisis. 

That’s the recommendation from the RSA Food Farming & Countryside Commission, which says the government must put rural countryside at the heart of decisions and policies relating to the green economy.

“If we don’t make the changes we need to right now, we will go beyond 1.5 degrees, beyond 2 degrees, we’ll probably go beyond 4 degrees of global warming, which will have an absolutely catastrophic effect on the whole of the country,” said the RSA report author Sue Pritchard.

She added: “Business as usual is just not an option – not for us and nor for our children and not for generations to come, There’s no alternative, we absolutely have to get on and we have to act now.”

The Our Future in the Land report – which took two years to complete – makes a number of recommendations:

• Ramp up production and supply of healthy British food such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and pulses and provide the produce to schools, hospitals and prisons.
• Launch a national agro-ecology development Bank to bring long-term investors to fund a transition to more sustainable farming.
• Create a national nature service for 18 to 25-year-olds to enthuse young people to tackle climate change.

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) also wants radical changes to farming methods, calling on meat and dairy to come from “sustainable livestock”.

It says most farmers consulted agreed they could make big changes to the way they farm in five to ten years with the right backing.

One method is agro-foresty – the process of planting various types of trees in fields used for crops and grazing.

Ben Raskin runs the agro-forestry project at Eastbrook Farm in Wiltshire explained what it means: “Agro-forestry is where you mix up trees and crops or livestock – so historically you’d have had a field of wheat or forestry and they’d be separate, and a field of cows separate – agro-forestry is intentional integration of those two enterprises.”

Ben says such an approach can boost revenue for farmers: “There’s a lot of evidence that if an animal is sheltered it’s more productive – so it’s been spending energy keeping its core temp warm it can put more energy into producing milk or putting on weight which is good obviously for productivity into the farm.”

There is growing recognition and action among the farming community about its impact on climate change – 10% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture.

But one of the biggest challenges for the industry is to balance sustainability with affordability – with the ever growing demand for cheap food.

A spokesperson from The National Farmers’ Union welcomed the report, but says it is important to consider the high-standards British farmers adhere to: “While we need innovative thinking and ambition, it is important that policy makers recognise the difference between the way food is produced in Britain – with the animal welfare and environmental standards that goes with British farming – compared to food and environmental standards delivered elsewhere.

“That is why we advocate our grassland farmers producing climate-friendly beef and lamb and why we are leading the way with our plans for farming to be net zero by 2040.”

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove said: “This report raises issues that are hugely important for changing the way we produce food in this country when we are outside of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

“We know that it is in the interests of farmers and landowners to move to a more sustainable model, which is why our Agriculture Bill sets out a new framework that will reward them for the work they do to protect and enhance the environment.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Make UK farming sustainable to help save the planet- report