A fair transition for farming
Article
But farming in the UK is facing not one but several transitions. These include:
- the advent of new agri-environment schemes
- new trading arrangements
- an increasing role for technology in farming
- shifting demographics of the farming workforce
- the impacts of a changing climate
- a potentially protracted recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
These transitions present challenges and opportunities, both to overcome the environmental crises we face and to do so in a way that is economically and socially fair and contributes to solving many of our other shared problems. Given the challenges farmers face and the urgency with which we need them to deliver climate solutions, support the return of wildlife recovery, and contribute to more resilient landscapes and communities, now is the time to reaffirm the place of farming in national life.
This report proposes a renewed social contract for farming, which would set out the roles and responsibilities for farmers, the state, and the public in the shift towards a net-zero and nature-positive economy. We propose this comes in the form of six priority areas of action.
Related items
The homes that children deserve: Housing policy to support families
As the government seeks to develop a new child poverty strategy, it will need to grapple with housing – the single largest cost faced by families.Powering up public support for electric vehicles
Tackling greenhouse gas emissions will only work if public support for action remains strong. That means ensuring tangible improvements in people’s lives and heading off any brewing backlash.Assessing the economy
Over the past few days and weeks, there has been lots of rather histrionic commentary about the UK’s economic situation as if the budget has created an economic disaster from which we’ll never recover.