The Future of Farming
There has been much progress in recent years towards a more sustainable food and farming system in the UK, nationally through the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy and internationally through the recent CAP reforms. More recently, implementation of the SFFS has been strengthened through the SFFS Action Plan and the introduction of the concept of One Planet Living.
However, there is still more to do if we are to see a truly sustainable food and farming sector in the UK. How do we deliver change on the ground? Where do we need further debate? And what are the emerging challenges that we need to engage with?
As understanding develops and the agenda moves forward, the SDC sees new challenges as falling broadly into three main categories:
• What does One Planet Living mean to UK farming? – David Miliband’s current focus on ‘One Planet Farming’, closely linked to the international sustainable consumption and production agenda, highlights a growing awareness of the need for UK agriculture to be sustainable on the global as well as national stage. In a global context, there is little value in exporting our problems elsewhere. This is an enormous challenge, which requires an in-depth understanding of the global environmental, social and economic impact of UK-based agriculture and the alternatives to it.
• What is the role of agriculture in the UK? – agriculture has the potential to deliver a wide range of services for society, including food provision, energy from biomass, fibres, pharmaceuticals and amenity. The role of government in structuring and supporting the UK agriculture industry will be largely determined by its priorities for agricultural sector delivery, and mechanisms for rewarding land managers for the provision of public goods such as biodiversity and landscape. Whilst it is widely agreed that production should be market driven and free from subsidy, differences of opinion remain between stakeholders over the importance of certain concepts such as food security.
• What are the land use challenges in the UK? – an understanding of the role of agriculture in the UK will help determine, and will in turn be influenced by, an overall strategy on how we wish to use the limited land available in the UK.
These challenges can only be successfully addressed through a cooperative effort between all key stakeholders, including farmers, suppliers, retailers, and environmental groups. However, Government has a key leadership role in identifying and prioritising these challenges, and in setting the framework in which sustainable food and farming in the UK can be achieved.
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