Over 50 environmental groups and farmers are calling on the government to not cut the “already inadequate nature-friendly farming budget” for the the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) any further. It should be increased, they say, “to meet nature and climate targets and ensure sustainable, wildlife-friendly food production.”
Defra’s budget is rumoured to be on the “chopping block” in the Comprehensive Spending Review. A number of environmental regulators were called into Downing Street by the Chancellor recently, with Natural England, a major player in ‘agri-environment’ schemes, expected to lose 200 jobs, according to a National Trust press release.
Environmental groups as well as farmers are concerned that such cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget, a significant chunk of Defra’s spending, will potentially be trialled in the Spring Statement.
“Not only would environmentalists and farmers object to such cuts due to the damage they would cause, they would also be likely to be unpopular with the public too,” says the National Trust. “New YouGov polling for Wildlife and Countryside Link has shown that only 13% of the public think the Government made the right decision in suspending the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) recently.”
The poll, commissioned by Wildlife and Countryside Link, has also revealed that a significant majority of Brits feel that increased nature-friendly farming grants would have a positive impact. With 51% saying food security would be positively impacted by increased grants, and a further 73% saying wildlife, and 57% saying rural communities, would benefit. 69%, 70% and 56% said respectively that river, soil and air pollution would be positively affected.
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