Today, the UK Government has published a new assessment of the threats facing UK Food Security – see UK Food Security Report 2024 - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK. The report states that: 

“Long term decline in the UK’s natural capital is a pressing risk to UK food production,” and, “Climate change, nature loss and water insecurity pose significant risks to the ability of global food production to meet demand over the longer term.” 

This means that the restoration of nature – including natural habitats, ecosystems, rivers, uplands, peatlands soils and much, much more – is critical to feed ourselves in the future. 

We know that there should not be a trade-off between growing food and restoring nature. Today’s report is clear that sustainable food production in the UK depends on nature recovery – it needs healthy soils, clean and plentiful water free of pesticides and agricultural pollution and thriving insect populations – because these are the foundations of farming. 

Therefore, it is vital that the Government ramps up support for nature-friendly farming. In England, lack of certainty and delays to the availability of new farm schemes are creating problems for farmers and threatening to derail the farming transition to post-Brexit schemes. This week, The Wildlife Trusts joined with other environmental organisations in an open letter to the Environment Secretary calling for greater clarity and urgent action to restore trust in future policy. 

Uncertainty on the more ambitious schemes which aid the restoration of nature – Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery – are causing particular angst amongst landowners most vulnerable to the phase out of EU-era payments. Information published today confirms Countryside Stewardship will reopen for applications next year, but it remains unclear how many farmers will be able to enter into this scheme. 

Barnaby Coupe, senior land use policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, says: 

“We are calling on Government to outline a clear future for nature-friendly farm schemes as a matter of extreme urgency. Farmers on marginal land with low food production – but that has high potential for nature restoration – stand to profit the most from ambitious new schemes, and today’s report shows this is equally valuable to UK food security.  

“Restoring the grasslands, woodlands and peatlands in these areas can achieve fantastic outcomes for wildlife and climate – for example by holding back more water on the land to create habitat and reduce flood risk downstream – whilst providing a sustainable income for farmers in return for public goods. There are more ambitious schemes such as Higher Tier which enable this, but Defra is woefully behind schedule in implementing these. 

“The Government must significantly increase support for nature-friendly farming to take action on the dual climate and biodiversity crises, guarantee our food security into the future, and provide vital income for vulnerable farmers. Efforts to pit food production against nature are a dangerous distraction and will slow progress towards nature recovery alongside sustainable farming systems.”