6 minute read
The Agriculture Act 2020
By Theo Plowman
Theo Plowman is Policy Manager at the Landscape Institute.
The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was first legislated in the 1960s. By 1973, it was well established, and aspiring members of the European Economic Community (the EU’s predecessor) had to accept it. As such, the UK joined the CAP that year. The policy proved controversial, infamous for its expense, inefficiency, wine lakes and butter mountains. This is the lasting public image of the policy, but the present form of CAP is much different. Funding is no longer linked to production, but is a direct form of payments tied to compliance to a set of standards on food safety, animal rights and environmental concerns. The key thrust of reforms in the early 2000’s was to sever the link between payments and production, so that farmers produce for market demand and not to gain EU subsidies.
The current model – the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) – was launched in 2015, and now the butter mountains are no more. Yet the system remains the target of considerable criticism, much of which we highlighted in our 2018 Food and Farming Paper. The first issue is its enormous cost. In 2016, farmers represented 3% of Europe’s population, and around 1.6% of its GDP, but the CAP budget totals to an eye-watering 40% of the EU budget, or £49bn (1) per year of EU taxpayers’ money. Nearly £4bn of UK tax money goes towards the CAP, an amount British politicians have been trying to claw back for decades.
Many may see these subsidies as a lifeline to quaint, family-run farms, but that image is somewhat inaccurate. Whilst the majority of farms remain small and family-run, the majority of the payments go to megafarms and mammoth multinational corporations. In the UK, the vast majority goes to a small group of large and wealthy landowners. In 2016 (2), the top 100 largest landowners received a total of £87.9m, which is more than was paid to the bottom 55,119 recipients combined. Furthermore, owning land earns money, and unsurprisingly this has driven up agricultural land prices to the point where it is almost impossible for young farmers to gain a foothold.
All images taken in Canon Frome Herefordshire
© Malcolm Dodds
In environmental terms, although the current system is much improved from the original payment schemes, it is clear that agriculture has and continues to have significant impacts on the environment. CAP policies have gradually incorporated a greater consideration of environmental impacts across water, air, soil, and biodiversity – but to varying degrees of effectiveness.
All images taken in Canon Frome Herefordshire
© Malcolm Dodds
Why does this matter to landscape?
Over 70% of the UK is agricultural land, and the way we farm has a huge impact on our landscapes, environment and of course the food we eat. Fundamental changes to agriculture will impact us all, regardless of whether we live in cities or on edge of a National Park.
The beauty and character of the British landscape has stirred generations of people, and continues to be a highly valued part of our national identity. A rich and varied landscape is a vital public good, but such sites have often been undermined by years of increasingly intensive farming. The diversity and richness of our landscape has decreased in both scenic and biodiversity terms. Almost 8000km (3) were lost each year between 1945 and 1970; less than half of the surviving managed hedges in Britain were classified as in ‘good structural condition’; 95% (4) of flower rich meadows have been lost since the Second World War; and 80% (5) of the UK’s lowland heathland has disappeared since the 19th Century. This in part has led to a massive loss of biodiversity: the 2019 State of Nature report (6) found 41% of UK species are declining, and one in ten is threatened with extinction.
The skills of our membership are important to this transformation. The right interventions with be needed in the right places. To give an example: a hedgerow can reduce flooding by helping infiltration, by acting as a carbon sink, stabilising soils, forming a nature network (its verges can be an important habitat for pollinating insects), as well as being an important landscape feature. Where it’s located will determine how many of these “public goods” a hedgerow can offer, but in the right place it can deliver holistic benefits.
A Fresh Start?
Whilst we may lament many aspects of our departure from the European Union, the chance to deliver a world leading agricultural policy is not one of them. The core idea that farmers be paid primarily to protect and enhance environments and landscape is truly revolutionary. The Agriculture Act sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be funded. This includes measures to improve air and water quality, enhance wildlife and soil health, reduce flooding and tackle the effects of climate change.
This shift in how agriculture is subsidised is potentially transformative. At its heart, the ‘public money for public goods’ model is a replacement for the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and it will look to reward farmers for actions that benefit the environment, such as tree planting, floods management and habitat restoration, rather than for the amount of land under ownership. This is a change which, perhaps remarkably, had crossParliamentary support and virtually unanimous backing, from farming unions to environmental charities.
Whilst the act may show strong positive intentions, it is the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) systems that will deliver those targets. As the government plans to phase out Direct Payments in England from 2021 to 2027, the Environmental Land Management system will become the main delivery framework for transforming land. DEFRA has an opportunity with ELM to develop a world-leading scheme that is far more ambitious than previous agri-environment CAP schemes, and to transform the way we manage land. Getting ELM right will be vital to achieve environmental and conservation goals, but also to restore the natural processes upon which the production of healthy food, timber, and other goods relies. The new system should focus on delivering a resilient and functional natural environment, that works in harmony with sustainable food production.
However, there are some early signs that ELM systems are at risk of being undermined and not fulfilling their potential to restore nature, secure food production and tackle climate change. There is concern that resourcing for enforcement bodies such as the Environment Agency and newly-formed Office for Environmental Protection may be insufficient.
Such is the importance of these schemes that the LI led a submission with our partners at the Environmental Policy Forum to the ELMS Policy Discussion Consultation (7). We are continuing to work with government on this important policy area, and with the recent unveiling of the largely positively received “Path to Sustainable Farming (8)”, we must make hay while the sun shines and ensure that future farming systems can deliver for farmers, for landscapes and for nature.
References
1 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/we-mustscrap-common-agricultural-policy-during-brexit-sakeour-finances-a7229581.html
2 https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/09/29/ common-agricultural-policy-millions-eu-subsidies-gorichest-landowners/
3 https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/ conservation-and-sustainability/advice/conservationland-management-advice/farm-hedges/history-ofhedgerows/
4 https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/about-us/news/realaction-needed-to-save-our-vanishing-meadows
5https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/StateOfNature2016_England_updated%2020%20Sept%20pages_tcm9424986.pdf
6 https://nbn.org.uk/stateofnature2019/
7 https://a182be4d-31b2-4e5d-81bf-6b9a3f5dc73a. usrfiles.com/ugd/a182be_7b8981bfd 2bb40bd8d5a60034b95591d.pdf
8https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 939925/agricultural-transition-plan.pdf
