Farmers Slam UK Food Security Plan Over Funding Gaps
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- The UK government published its first long-term farming plan on Wednesday, warning that the climate crisis, geopolitical instability, environmental degradation and supply chain disruptions threaten UK food security — potentially causing "severe food price shocks" and, in extreme situations, reduced availability of certain foods.
- The plan frames a shift away from fertilisers and pesticides toward nature-friendly farming systems as a key solution, arguing the most resilient farms are profitable precisely because they "work with the environment, not against it."
- Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), criticised the plan for failing to allocate long-term funding to tackle climate breakdown, declaring "The Treasury is conspicuously absent in this plan" and warning the package "tips the balance of risk even more on to the shoulders of farmers."
- The plan lifts the budget for environmental land management (ELM) schemes to up to £2bn a year by 2029 — a figure first announced last summer — while adding £53m to a farming innovation programme covering robotics, soil health and water management and launching a new £30m farmer collaboration fund.
- Applications for a "simpler, fairer" Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme will open this month for small farms and in September for all eligible farms, following Defra's sudden closure of SFI applications last March which prompted farmer outrage.
- Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, welcomed the plan's recognition of the interconnectedness of farming, food, climate and nature but said the government must now back it with "the right investment, schemes, and market conditions" — warning that "delay and inaction… would be disastrous."
Why it matters: Farmers say the plan pushes the financial burden of climate adaptation onto them while the Treasury is "conspicuously absent." With the ELM budget capped at £2bn a year by 2029 and the UK already enduring its second record-breaking heatwave in two months, the gap between the government's stated risks and its funding commitment is now the central fault line in UK agricultural policy.
