British government estimates have claimed that nearly a tenth of all English farmland will need to be ‘rewilded’ by 2050 to hit green agenda targets.
Projections in the government’s “land use framework” said that approximately 760,000 hectares, or around nine per cent of agricultural land in England, will need to “change away from agricultural land for environmental and climate benefits,” the Financial Times reports.
The government report said that to meet climate goals, an additional nine per cent of agricultural land would need to adopt so-called ‘sustainable’ farming practices.
The move could see the UK become even more reliant on foreign imports to meet its food supply needs, with the country already importing around 40 per cent of its food.
The report claimed a reduction in the amount of land dedicated toward food production could be mitigated by the use of technology and new farming practices to increase yields.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “The primary purpose of farming will always be to produce the food that feeds the nation,” and that the framework report would help preserve “our highest quality agricultural land and make decisions about the long-term future of farm businesses”.
However, critics, such as the president of the Country Land and Business Association, Victoria Vyvyan, warned that the report could lay the groundwork for government “mission creep”. She cautioned that farmers could be told “what they are and aren’t allowed to grow, plant and rear on their land”.
“Whenever the state gets involved, its tendency is to only become ever more prescriptive,” Vyvyan said. “Today, the framework might be light touch, but tomorrow it won’t be.”
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— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 13, 2024
The head of the National Farmers Union (NFU), Tom Bradshaw, said that “it’s imperative this framework does not further restrict farmers’ ability to produce the nation’s food.”
“Above all, we need transparency, engagement and a government that is willing to listen. Only then will we get a land use framework that delivers for consumers, for the environment and for British agriculture,” he said.
Bradshaw also called for the government to introduce “targets for British food production” as it has done for the green agenda, as well as introducing trade protections and standards to ensure British farmers do not have to compete with imports that “would be illegal to produce here.”
The threat of further green attacks on the British farming industry comes as the sector has been struggling as a result of high inflation and soaring energy costs, in addition to recent flooding and heavy rainfall, which can disrupt the harvest.
Farmers have also expressed outrage over the left-wing Labour government’s plans to remove the inheritance tax exemption from many farms. Under the scheme, farms valued at at least £1 million (£2 million for married couples) will face a 20 per cent inheritance tax by 2026.
As many farmers operate on a thin profit margin, many have warned that the tax raid will force families to sell off parts of their land just to pay the tax when their parents die. This has led to large-scale protests throughout the country in recent months.
Similar schemes to shut down farms to meet climate goals have previously sparked widespread protests in Europe, notably in the Netherlands. At the behest of the EU, the previous government sought to forcibly shut down 30 per cent of the country’s farmland to reduce nitrogen emissions. The current populist-led government, which includes the pro-farmer BBB party, has sought to fight back against the climate diktats from Brussels; however, the dispute is ongoing.
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— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 16, 2022
