Groups including The Wildlife Trusts and WWF-UK have called on government to address unfair supply chains and guarantee funding for green farming transition in England.
In an open letter to the Secretary of State, Steve Reed, a coalition of groups have highlighted the opportunity to restore confidence in the sector by tackling unfairness in the supply chain and boosting funding for nature-friendly farming.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said, “There have been decades of under-investment in wildlife-friendly farming. The transition to sustainable agriculture that ought to offer a prosperous future for farmers and nature is way off track, with farmers and wildlife paying the price. With so much at stake for farmers and the environment, the government has a chance to fix things. The Prime Minister should pledge the public money needed to grow a green and thriving farming economy that can help reverse nature’s decline and provide security and stability for farming communities. Supply chains should be reforged so that responsible farmers are paid properly. And the system of farm payments should be quickly fixed, so that those farmers who lead the way to our shared vision of a nature-friendly future are rewarded well for their work.”
The letter comes ahead of thousands of farmers converging on Parliament on Wednesday, to protest the financial pressures facing British farming. This week also sees the release of DEFRA’s three yearly food security report, which is expected to highlight the increasing threat that climate change is having on farmers’ livelihoods.
Beccy Speight, RSPB Chief Executive, said, “With 70 per cent of the UK farmed, we simply cannot afford for nature-friendly farming to remain underfunded. We know the scale of funding needed if farmers are to be supported in a predictable and stable path towards delivering nature friendly farming, and government must realise this ambition fast. Supporting this environmental delivery is urgently needed to secure the future of our food system in a way that benefits farm businesses and meets our legally binding nature and climate targets.”
The open letter from green groups, draws attention to the harsh economic realities these deeper-routed issues are leaving many farmers facing. These need to be resolved to support farmers to be able to transition to climate-resilient and nature-friendly farming practices. With a secure financial future for farmers vital for them to act as environmental stewards and help deliver the change on the ground needed to meet key environmental targets by 2030.
Vicki Hird, Strategic Lead for Agriculture at The Wildlife Trusts, said, “Farmers are essential to both nature’s recovery and climate adaptation but the UK Government must improve its approach so farmers can contribute meaningful impact. That requires well-designed and adequate finance, clearer advice, and regulations to balance an unfair supply chain. Without these changes, we will likely see further declines in wildlife, loss of soils, more water pollution and unmanaged flooding. A coherent farming and food roadmap aligned with a strong environmental ambition and budget, cannot come soon enough.”
The changes to the tax landscape announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn budget sparked anger within the farming community, turning the issue into a political flashpoint. This heightened focus on farming is also shining a light on the deeper-rooted issues within the struggling sector.
The letter urges decisive government action including calls to address power imbalances in food supply chains that disadvantage farmers, demanding greater transparency and fairness. It also highlights the need to better resource and target Environmental Land Management schemes and secure adequate funding to support sustainable farming.
The letter writers say that these are long-standing issues inherited from the previous government, which they are urging the new administration to resolve. In a difficult budget it was welcome to see the farming budget was not cut, but urgent steps are needed now to restore confidence in the green farming transition. The organisations signing the letter are calling on the government to increase the annual farm budget at the upcoming comprehensive spending review to at least £3.1 billion in England for environmental goals alone.
Open letter to the Secretary of State, Steve Reed
9th December 2024
Dear Secretary of State,
Farmers are facing huge economic challenges at exactly the moment we need agricultural reform to speed forward for nature’s recovery and a sustainable food system.
Extreme weather has contributed to England’s second-worst harvest on record. Surging inflation, plummeting income, unfair supply chains, and years of underfunded Environmental Land Management schemes threaten our shared vision of a sustainable future for farming. The pause in capital grants, a legacy of early ELM design flaws, will make key environmental investments even more difficult.
This moment lays bare the deep systemic issues that have dogged England’s agricultural transition. From an unjust food system to inadequate investment in nature-friendly farming, the root causes must be addressed. We are writing to urge you to act quickly on supply chain fairness and ELM reform to make the transition to sustainable farming fair and rewarding.
1. Supply Chain Fairness
By tackling supply chain injustices, the government can improve confidence among farmers and enable sustainable investment across the sector.
The UK food supply chain is heavily concentrated, with over 95 per cent of food sold through twelve retailers. This leaves farmers with little bargaining power. Farmers often earn less than 1p for every pound spent by consumers, with unfair contracts, supermarket pressures, and exploitative practices stifling their ability to invest in nature friendly farming.
Addressing these issues requires reforms to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), a progressive trade policy that supports UK farming including a set of minimum environmental threshold for imported agri-food products in domestic law to provide a level playing field for farmers and businesses, and new routes to markets for farmers including via public procurement. Completing and enforcing sector-specific codes of practice, particularly for fresh produce, will help ensure fair pricing and accountability across supply chains.
2. Delivering better Environmental Land Management Schemes
Five years after the Agricultural Act, Environmental Land Management schemes remain far from meeting their full potential. Their rollout has been slow, underfunded, and confusing. The decision in October to maintain rather than increase the farming budget will not help progress.
We urge the government to increase the annual farm budget at the upcoming comprehensive spending review to £3.1 billion in England to support nature-friendly farming, safeguard livelihoods, improve animal welfare and meet critical climate, nature and water targets. Expanding access to Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier is also crucial, particularly to help 7,000 farmers left in limbo and undervalued as old agreements expire. Accelerating Landscape Recovery schemes is imperative to scale up biodiversity and climate recovery efforts, especially in vulnerable upland areas where these interventions are most urgently needed.
These schemes are essential for efforts to deliver habitat restoration, carbon sequestration, enhanced animal welfare, flood risk mitigation and improved water quality.
Without decisive investment and a clearer plan for delivery, farmers risk being caught between a lack of market access and inadequate support for sustainable transitions.
A Shared Future for Farming and Nature
The frustration expressed in recent farmer protests has some roots in decades of what many perceive as managed decline. Farmers feel undervalued, overburdened, and unsupported in their efforts to embrace a transition to nature friendly farming. This should concern us all.
We believe in a future where farming, conservation, climate resilience and animal welfare go hand in hand. Achieving this vision requires a strong partnership between government and farmers. We stand ready to work with the government and farmers to address the root causes of current discontent and deliver a farming system that is both economically viable and ecologically restorative.
Yours sincerely,
Roger Mortlock, CEO, CPRE, the countryside charity
Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB
Joan Edwards OBE, Director Policy and Public Affairs, the Wildlife Trusts
Angela Francis, Director of Policy Solutions at WWF-UK
Will McCallum, Co Executive Director, , Greenpeace UK
Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife & Countryside Link
Helen Browning OBE, CEO, Soil Association
Robert Fraser, Executive Director, Real Farming Trust
Kath Dalmeny, CEO, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming
Jyoti Fernandes MBE, Policy Coordinator, Landworkers Alliance
Abi Bunker, Director of Conservation and External Affairs, The Woodland Trust
Dr Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN UK
Jackie Pearce-Dickens, CEO, Whole Health Agriculture
Paul Colson, Acting CEO, Institute of Fisheries Management
Erica Popplewell, Head of Campaigns, River Action
Julie Williams, CEO, Butterfly Conservation
Rose O’Neill, CEO, Campaign for National Parks
Nida Al-Fulaij, CEO, People’s Trust for Endangered Species
Dr Tony Gent, CEO, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Suzy Russell, Coordinator, Community Supported Agriculture Network UK
Miles King, CEO, People Need Nature
Julia Kirby Smith, CEO, Better Food Traders
Claire Bass, Senior Director Campaigns and Public Affairs, Humane Society International/UK
James West, Chief Public Affairs Manager UK, Compassion in World Farming
Ellen Fay, CEO, Sustainable Soils Alliance
Gill Perkins, CEO, Bumblebee Conservation Trust
David Bowles, Head of Public Affairs, RSPCA
Liz Charles, CEO, Organic Growers Alliance
Kate Ashbrook, General Secretary, Open Spaces Society
Adele Jones, CEO, Sustainable Food Trust
Carina Millston, CEO, Feedback
Kyle Lischak, Head of UK, Client Earth
Kit Stoner, CEO, Bat Conservation Trust
Kathy Wormald, CEO, Froglife
Mark Lloyd, CEO, The Rivers Trust
Christopher Price, CEO, Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Sarah Fowler, CEO, WWT
Jeremy Biggs, CEO, Freshwater Habitats Trust
Nicola Hutchinson, Director of Conservation and acting CEO, Plantlife
Julie Brown, Director, Growing Communities
Sonul Badiani-Hamment, UK Country Director FOUR PAWS UK