The government must do more to support UK agriculture, say farmers and retailers
Ashwin Prasad - Tesco Chief Commercial Officer, Michael Lee - Deputy Vice Chancellor - Harper Adams University, and Clive Phillips - Tesco Sustainable Lamb Group farmer attend OFC panel discussion on Tesco's Greenprint for UK farming report.
A lack of clarity over farming policy is a barrier to introducing environmentally friendly measures on farms.
Like many UK farmers today, Clive Phillips and his family face three major challenges – “profitability, sustainability and succession”.
Clive is a sheep and arable farmer in Aberdeenshire, supplying lamb to Tesco. Last month, he shared his views on the future of UK agriculture at the Oxford Farming Conference as part of the launch of Tesco’s Greenprint for UK Farming report. The report, developed in partnership with Harper Adams University’s School of Sustainable Food and Farming, explores what support UK farming needs to become more sustainable, both environmentally and economically.
The report was based on the insights and experiences of over 300 farmers from across the country. Two-thirds of those surveyed (67 per cent) are already seeing the impact of climate change on their farms while three-quarters (76 per cent) haven’t been able to implement the environmental measures they want due to high upfront costs, the risk of poor financial returns and a lack of policy certainty. The vast majority (92 per cent) think the Government needs to do more to support UK farming to become more resilient.
The report puts forward a series of ambitious recommendations to the Government and the wider food industry to help farmers implement the changes they need for the industry to thrive as we move towards net zero.
The recommendations are aimed at developing farms that are sustainable, as well as profitable. Clive and his two grown-up children, like many farmers across the UK’s arable, livestock and fresh produce supply chains, are committed to caring for the environment and preserving their farms for future generations, but still face many barriers such as rising input costs, economic pressures and extreme weather conditions.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s Chief Commercial Officer, understands farmers’ concerns and believes that if action is taken now the sector will be “a powerful driver of green growth in our economy”.
“The Government must set a long-term vision for UK agriculture and give farmers clarity on the role they can play in the UK’s wider transition to net zero,” he says. “Likewise, the food industry can support farmers to invest in new tools and technology at scale, to bring down farm emissions and improve yields.”
Tesco is calling on the Government and policymakers to implement a long-term food strategy to inform decision-making and industry investment in the transition to net zero.
Greater certainty on long-term land use will create a positive business environment, help farmers to plan for the future, encourage them to invest in innovative new technology and accelerate the uptake of lower carbon farming methods. With this in mind, Tesco is launching two low-carbon concept farms this year, exploring the use of low carbon fertilisers, state-of-the-art cold storage and carbon removal techniques. It is also expanding its Sustainable Farming Groups, which work closely with farmers and suppliers to promote sustainable farming practices.
As a member of Tesco’s Sustainable Lamb Group, Clive welcomes the focus on improving sustainability in the industry.
“With Tesco, we’ve developed and evolved our contract to address some of our key issues, such as climate change, sustainability and transition,” he says.
“This new report provides a blueprint for us on how we develop things further – what we as producers will be asked to do, what we are able to do ourselves and what we will be looking to industry to support us with.”
A Greenprint for UK Farming: Working in partnership with UK farmers to deliver a more
sustainable food system.
