Long-term budget incorporated into Ag Bill 'essential'

A long-term budget incorporated into the Agriculture Bill is "essential" in achieving the Government's aspirations for farming and the environment, MPs heard.

Farm groups gave evidence to an influential group of MPs at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday (24 October).

The hearing is part of the Committee scrutiny of the Agriculture Bill, which was announced in September and has recently gone through its Second Reading in Parliament.

One of the organisations giving evidence, the CLA, said that certainty on funding beyond the Government’s existing commitment to 2022 will provide farmers and landowners with the "confidence" to adapt their businesses.

The group, whose members own or manage more than 10 million acres of rural land across England and Wales, said financial certainty will encourage farmers to engage "constructively" in the Bill’s new policies, such as payment for public goods.

CLA President, Tim Breitmeyer gave evidence to the Committee. He said: “We fully support the Government’s aspirations for a profitable farming sector that also provides a range of public goods for society, from enhancing the environment, including the multiple benefits from sustainable soil and water management, to the highest standards of animal welfare.

“But farmers and land managers need to be able to plan ahead, and adapting their businesses based on new Government policy feels precarious without this commitment to funding the policies beyond 2022,” he said.

'Carefully managed'

He said the transition period must avoid cliff edges for farm businesses by ensuring that reductions in acreage-based payments are "carefully managed", and with the strict proviso that replacement schemes are already in place and ready for farmers to begin delivering outputs and receiving "proper" levels of payment.

Mr Breitmeyer added: “Only profitable farms will be in a position to deliver wider public goods, and so supporting their stability and productivity must not be a secondary concern to environmental aspirations.

“We are pleased that Government has been listening to the industry on this important point, but now is the time to substantiate good intentions with detail and funding.”