Julian Sturdy is MP for York Outer.
Our meals safety has by no means been extra important. With Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, rising power costs, and international excessive climate occasions, the flexibility to provide extra meals at house is of the upmost significance.
And, following our departure from the European Union and our want to as soon as extra be a world-leading buying and selling nation, so too is guaranteeing that our farmers can compete on the worldwide market and may realise the alternatives that new commerce offers can deliver have to be excessive on the agenda for the brand new Authorities.
Moreover, our potential to set our personal agricultural coverage framework as soon as extra offers us with the very actual alternative to turbo-charge British agriculture – to understand the wonderful potential of our farmers to not solely feed the nation, but in addition to behave as custodians of our stunning panorama, enjoying their function in bettering biodiversity and dealing in the direction of a low-carbon future.
The publication this week of the Social Market Basis’s (SMF) new report, Moovin’ On Up, is a welcome addition to the talk.
Because it rightly factors out, productiveness in British agriculture has stalled lately. This isn’t a common drawback, and there are success tales such because the gentle fruit sector, however livestock farmers – significantly the underside half of farms – have seen little or no productiveness progress within the final 30 years. Many cattle and sheep farms should run their agricultural enterprise at a loss, and are sustained by subsidies and non-farm revenue.
Many years of EU funding mechanisms, and centralised policymaking with a number of goals for farmers, have left us lagging behind. It’s important that DEFRA now present each the alternatives to unlock progress and the knowledge and stability that’s wanted for long-term funding selections.
I used to be delighted that Ranil Jayawardena, our new Secretary of State, made clear at our get together convention that DEFRA is now a “Division for progress”. His current go to to the Netherlands to find out about their cutting-edge horticulture business and the function that fashionable know-how is enjoying in that’s welcome certainly. However, we additionally have to be taking a look at how we will enhance productiveness in our home livestock business.
The SMF’s new report reveals how ‘precision farming’ instruments, resembling digital ID tags, sensible weighing techniques, monitoring collars, and farm administration apps, may assist shut the agricultural productiveness hole between the UK and international locations just like the Netherlands, Australia, and the US.
Our farmers want to Authorities to allow funding in new applied sciences and strategies. These already utilizing new applied sciences take pleasure in improved labour productiveness, farm security and animal well being, productiveness, and welfare, simply as tutorial proof would lead us to anticipate. That is very true in youthful farmers, or certainly these seeking to the following technology to take over household farms.
But presently, solely 9 per cent of presidency grants in England are earmarked for productivity-enhancing actions.
If DEFRA is to turn into the expansion division that Jayawardena desires it to be, then it’s important this adjustments. Reforms to our funding system for agriculture should assist to spice up productiveness, and inspiring the uptake of ‘precision farming’ instruments can be central to this. Adoption of precision strategies has been linked to productiveness beneficial properties in different international locations (notably Australia), and is endorsed by the OECD.
I welcome SMF’s new report and strongly consider its findings might help us to ship a farming and agricultural coverage framework that units UK farming up for the long run. Encouraging the uptake of latest know-how and precision strategies is not going to solely assist to spice up agricultural productiveness, but in addition has direct advantages for animal well being and the atmosphere.
If DEFRA is to really turn into a progress division and we’re to assist our farmers into the long run, then our funding mechanisms and coverage instructions have to be centered on supporting productiveness and enabling funding in new applied sciences.
