Cutting funding for farmers risks food security, says Stuart Anderson MP
Stuart Anderson MP has said government plans to reduce the funding available for farmers risks jeopardising national food security and farmer’s resilience. Officials are looking at cutting the agricultural budget by at least £100 million a year, following unspent funds which could be handed back to HM Treasury. The decision has been criticised by groups such as the National Farmers Union, Wildlife Trusts, and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSBP), according to which it could result in at least 239,000 fewer hectares of farmland being managed in nature-friendly ways - undermining the long-term environment plan, in which the last government made a commitment to protecting 30 per cent of UK land by 2030 and restoring 500,000 hectares of wildlife habitat.
The cuts are expected to come from underspend on the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, designed to help England’s farmers enhance their efficiency, productivity, and environmental sustainability. Announced in the Agricultural Transition Plan of November 2020, ELM was the foundation of the last government’s approach to farming - providing an opportunity to secure financial support in return for delivering environmental benefits. Almost half of farmers, representing 62,700 farm businesses, are involved in the schemes.
The last eighteen months have been the wettest on record, creating unprecedented conditions for UK farmers. This has compounded challenges farmers have faced in recent years, including increased energy, fuel, and labour costs. Sector bodies such as the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have called for the agricultural budget for England to be steadily increased, so that it reaches £3.8 billion in 2027-28. The CLA added that increasing the UK’s food self-sufficiency would improve resilience, dampen costs, and reduce the trade deficit for food products which, in 2023, stood at £36.7 billion.
In recognition of these challenges, the previous government, of which Stuart was part, committed in its manifesto to increasing the UK-wide farming budget by £1 billion over the Parliament. It also planned to introduce a legally binding target to enhance food security. Stuart has joined with other MPs to call on the new government to stick with these plans, supporting farmers to choose what works best for them in the interests of boosting the country’s food security.
Stuart added that the new government has a huge opportunity to support the UK agri-food and seafood sectors, which create over £120 billion of value for the economy every year and employs over 4 million people. He said that it can do so by harnessing the great advantages of its strong economic inheritance - with the UK having grown by 0.6 per cent between April and June, the second fastest growth rate in the G7. Inflation remains low at 2.2 per cent and unemployment at 4 per cent, near record lows. Across the West Midlands, total Income from farming in 2022 was £644 million, an increase of 7.1% since 2021.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“Backing our farmers is a key part of my plan for South Shropshire. With farming and agriculture forming nearly 20% of enterprises in Shropshire, I am proud of our farmers and producers, whose high-quality produce provides us with reliable and sustainable food supply. Thanks to their hard work and enormous sacrifices, we produce 65% of our entire food supply needs. Food security is an essential part of national security. Heightened geopolitical risk has brought that into sharper focus. So, it is worrying that the new government plans to cut funding available for farmers by £100 million when we left it with the fastest growing economy in the G7, inflation at target levels, and unemployment at near record lows."
Stuart added:
"As we have seen in this case, the voices of our farmers is often lost in the national conversation, and their livelihoods are overlooked in pursuit of other interests. The government must instead build on its strong economic inheritance by supporting our farmers, not making them the victims of political decisions to award union paymasters with inflation-busting pay rises. That’s why I am calling on the government to match our own proposal to increase the UK-wide agriculture budget by £1 billion and to introduce a legally binding target to enhance food security. Delivering fairer funding and better support for farmers in rural areas like Shropshire should be key priorities.”
