VIDEO: NFU talks about recent flooding manifesto launch

Agricultural land plays a huge role in managing water
Agricultural land plays a huge role in managing water

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has a launched a flooding manifesto in response to a government report on future flood prevention.

The manifesto outlines the need for the government to develop long-term strategy to alleviate the risk of flooding in the future.

Agricultural land plays a huge role in managing water but in extreme events the systems currently in place can become overloaded.

During the floods of 2015 it was not only vast swathes of farm land that were submerged by flood water, but homes and businesses were also hit after vital infrastructure could no longer cope.

Talking about the manifesto, James Copeland, an NFU environment and land use advisor, told FarmingUK it was vital that there was a critical plan, both rural and urban areas were protected and that there were resources available for the necessary infrastructure.

He said that the manifesto aimed to persuade the government to work closer with rural communities to make sure that the right measures were in place to manage the water effectively.