The new schemes will give funds to farmers for the restoration of natural habitats, rewilding Britain and other related projects. But industry representatives fear this could lead to an ‘immoral’ decrease in British Isles food production.
Next week Environment Secretary George Eustice plans to unveil two new environmental land management programs that will allow farmers to establish habitats to help reduce biodiversity loss.
The new Local Nature Recovery Scheme will allow farmers and landowners who have 500-5,000 hectares to request funding for planting trees or restoring wetland habitats.
The Ministers feel that the reforms will be a major part of the Government’s efforts to boost biodiversity in Britain, reduce the decline in British species by 2030 and restore as much as 300,000 ha of habitat before the 2040s.
The plans are criticized for being too focused on the liberation of land for rewilding rather than the support of British food production.
On Thursday’s Oxford Farming Conference (Oxford Farming Conference), Mr Eustice will provide details about a Landscape Recovery Scheme that supports larger projects that aim to rewilder the British countryside.
There are also concerns about the plan’s focus on land rewilding rather than supporting British food production.
National Farming Union Vice President Tom Bradshaw said: ‘We have always cautiously welcomed the policy of public money for public goods but it shouldn’t focus on environmental delivery alone and must underpin truly sustainable food production.
‘My biggest fear would be that if this policy results in reduced food production in the UK and we simply import from countries with lower standards, then we may end up living in a green oasis here, but we have simply off-shored our production and any environmental impacts that go with it – this is morally incomprehensible.’
This scheme is a follow-up to the Sustainable Farming Incentive. It will reward farmers for sustainable land management practices such as planting hedgerows that provide shelter and food for insects and birds year round.
George Eustice the Environment Secretary (pictured) will reveal plans to implement two land management strategies for environmental protection
It’s currently being used by close to 1,000 farmers for testing and will eventually be implemented this year.
Plans are part of wider Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELM), which compensate farmers for environmental work.
‘In the government’s recent net-zero strategy, ELMs was identified as a key delivery mechanism so we hope that the schemes unveiled by the Secretary of State this week will have net-zero aspirations at their heart – policies that are underpinned by scientific evidence rather than populism,’ Mr Bradshaw added.
“The scheme must correctly reward farmers and incentivise members to participate and should be easily accessible across the country, including upland, lowland and tenants.
Mr Eustice stated that the plans had been put into place in order to ensure a vibrant, profitable farming and food industry.
A senior figure in the farming industry told The Telegraph the new scheme could also be of more benefit to wealthy land owners, and said a lack of safeguarding means investors from abroad could buy up agricultural land for their own gain.
Previous statements by Mr Eustice stated that the plans had been put into place in order to “ensure a vibrant, profitable food and agriculture industry” in the UK
They said that they were disappointed by the government’s continued talk of land sparing. ‘We believe it must be about land sharing – food production and the environment working together.’
Eustice spoke ahead of next week’s conference and said that a profitable, successful agricultural production was crucial for our food security.
“We face challenges in issues such as biodiversity loss, climate change. We must make use of our freedom under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy [CAP]To establish a system of incentives and rewards in agriculture.
“Our new policies will help individual farmers make the right choices, and allow them to pick which elements are most beneficial for them.”
MailOnline reached out to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for comments.