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This essay first appeared in the IPPR and WWF publication Putting People at the Heart of the Green Transition.

As part of the urgent challenge to respond to climate change and recover and regenerate nature, the food and farming sector needs to make a fundamental transition to a truly sustainable system.

In our recent RSA Commission, Our Future Our Land,1 we’ve provided detailed suggestions for how we move to putting health at the heart of food, revolutionising agriculture to make it sustainable and ensuring the countryside can provide work and community value for all. The biggest challenge in my view is how we help the farming community transition from an unsustainable, intensive model to one which seeks to build natural capital at a farm-by-farm level over the next 10 years.

The most important thing that the government can do is to switch the farm payments system away from the EU production subsidies and instead reward farmers for adding to their natural capital, with payments based on indicators such as soil quality, biodiversity and reduced levels of fertilisers and herbicides/ insecticides. At the same time, it should pursue the polluter pays principle and ensure that the true costs of all the externalities are charged to industry.

With a clear financial incentive to switch models, I’m sure most farmers would want to change over – but in order to support this change it’s clear that farmers will need technical help and advice as well. Through its research, the Commission found that training and supporting farmer mentors could boost the availability and uptake of peer-to-peer support. Not only could this offer a development and diversification opportunity for farmers, but it could also be a trusted and cost-effective way of meeting their technical, business and social support needs at a time of enormous change in the industry.

"With a clear financial incentive to switch models, I’m sure most farmers would want to change over" - Sir Ian Cheshire

The principles of agroecology encapsulate how farming will need to change in the future – it will have to learn from, work with and enhance our natural systems in order to optimise the interaction between plants, animals, humans and the environment. This includes practices such as integrated pest management, organic farming, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry using technology and innovation to move towards circular and whole-farm system solutions that are resilient and respect animal welfare. Countries that already prioritise this approach rank higher on food sustainability: France is ranked number one and the Nordics are in the top 10, while the UK currently is at number 24.2

Many farms are locked into their current system following years of investment, and they can’t be expected to write off their previous expenditure. Along with subsidies shifting, the Commission believes we need to create a national agroecology development bank (NADB) to ensure finance is available to farmers who want to make this long-term shift. Currently, farmers struggle to find the necessary funding to implement changes to their systems or business models. To finance a sustainable transition in food and farming, the NADB should be established as a publicly-owned bank drawing on specialist knowledge from a diverse mix of local banking partners who have a close connection to and knowledge of local markets and conditions.

"Without root and branch reforms to the financial incentives in farming we can’t expect real change or a reversal of decades of degradation of soils and wildlife" - Sir Ian Cheshire

The Commission also highlights the need to create the right conditions for new, fulfilling jobs to attract new talent and the next generation into the industry and build a socially as well as environmentally regenerative economy. This is often a challenge within agriculture, as new entrants can find it difficult to get started and make progress. In the rural economy, self-employment and small businesses are prominent, and we need to create the conditions for them to thrive. Encouragingly, our research indicates that most young people (16-24) in the countryside want to live and work there – we should act on this and ensure that there are opportunities for our future generations to earn a decent and fulfilling living in the countryside.

Time and again in our review we heard great stories of innovation and change, and farmers spoke of their willingness to be part of the solution – but they need our support to make it happen at scale. As with all industries I’ve worked in, the leaders understand this and want the right level playing field to ensure the transition happens correctly. Without root and branch reforms to the financial incentives in farming we can’t expect real change or a reversal of decades of degradation of soils and wildlife.

Sir Ian Cheshire is Chairman of Barclays UK. Ian won the 2012 Guardian Sustainable Business Leader of the Year award for his work with B&Q. In 2014 he was knighted for his services to business, sustainability and the environment.

This essay first appeared in the IPPR and WWF publication Putting People at the Heart of the Green Transition.

Notes

  1. www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/reports/future-land
  2. The Economist Intelligence Unit Food Sustainability Index 2019