by Across Europe, farmers are protesting changes to regulations and subsidy schemes. Smaller protests have spread across the UK – particularly in Wales, where thousands have turned out to air their grievances with the recent update to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
This is the scheme proposed by the Welsh government to replace the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), which dedicated the majority of its budget to payments for each hectare of land managed. The new scheme aims to give farmers public money for public goods – that is, to pay farmers out of the public purse for the ecosystem services they provide that are not rewarded by selling products. These include carbon sequestration, habitat maintenance, and preservation of cultural landmarks.
To receive payments from the new voluntary scheme, farmers must comply with 17 actions aimed at improving biodiversity and general farm management.
Farmers have taken a special exception to the requirement to have 10% of their land under tree cover. Normally, this will not include hedgerows, as the aim is to increase the size and number of woodland on farms. In addition, farmers will have to manage 10% of their land for semi-natural habitat, such as grasslands with many species. Organizations such as Coed Cadw (Woodland Trust Cymru) estimate that tree cover on the average farm in Wales is already around 6-7%.
However, the tree-planting requirement could be difficult for tenant farmers, who will need permission from landowners, and those with mortgages could be turned down by banks because tree-planting could reduce land values.
At a recent event I attended in Narberth in South Wales, the president of the National Farmers Union, Aled Jones, said that the 10% requirements are too much and would hit food production (the UK imports around 46% of their food already) and the rural economy. Welsh is also continuing to be taken into account: 43% of agricultural workers are Welsh, the highest of any industry for a long time.
An economic crisis is getting worse
It is the responsibility of governments to achieve net zero targets as farmers cling to their livelihoods in a difficult economic climate. Farmers receive little of the retail value of their produce. Dairy farmers in the UK typically receive less than 1p of the retail value of a 480g block of cheese.
Production costs are rising worldwide. Feed, fuel and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed along with interest rates and energy costs, making it harder than ever to turn a profit. Many farmers may go out of business if their subsidy income falls, especially on smaller farms.
Research commissioned by the Welsh government suggests that the new scheme will reduce farm incomes and cause a total annual hit of £199 million (US$250 million) to the Welsh farming economy. Livestock numbers are predicted to decline, resulting in the loss of farm jobs.
And this figure does not include the indirect impact on the rural economy, which is often heavily dependent on farming. It comes after years of UK farmers being told they would receive financial support to make the green transition. Many of them feel a sense of betrayal. The exact payment details for the SFS will not be announced until later in 2024, and this uncertainty is cause for concern.
With subsidy levels falling, some UK farmers will have to sell up. Some farms are already being purchased by large investment funds for timber production and the sale of carbon credits to companies seeking to “offset” their emissions, a practice criticized as greening. One investment firm has already bought a number of Welsh farms with the aim of buying up to 166,000 hectares in Wales, which would make it one of the biggest landowners in the country.
A new kind of politics
We are looking at the limits of a green transition constrained by austerity, which in this case puts the decarbonisation of individual farm businesses. This is instead of addressing the systemic challenges.
Government investment in British agriculture has fallen sharply over the past decade. Farmers are concerned that the funding of the new scheme will not continue long enough in the future to make it worthwhile to plant trees and create habitats. Low uptake, with many farms being sold, may not be a bad thing for the Welsh government if it is only looking to reduce public spending and emissions from agriculture. This would also make more land available for forestry, helping Wales meet its tree planting targets.
However, if food production declines, more food will be imported, displacing the environmental consequences of food production to other parts of the world. Alternatives such as agroforestry could bridge the gap between these competing demands, with trees helping rather than hindering food production. One example, known as grazing, involves planting rows of trees in fields at regular intervals, allowing animals to graze or cultivate crops on both sides.
The transition of farming systems will take time, which will require wider reforms and more economic security for farmers. As the UK is the world’s third largest importer of timber products, and only 15% of Wales is covered in woodland compared to 39% of the EU’s total land, more trees are needed. But it is counterproductive for the Welsh government to alienate farmers – the scheme must take into account the constraints they face.
Protests by European farmers have already led governments to back off some of the proposed changes, such as scrapping plans to halve the use of pesticides. But while frustration among farmers is justified, there is still an urgent need to tackle climate and ecological failure.
The scale of this challenge requires a new form of politics, rooted not in austerity but renewed public spending on food and farming systems, combined with prompt action against those parts of the supply chain that are reaping all the profit.
Supermarkets continue to make record profits, while farmers suffer low prices and consumers have to contend with high prices to make a profit. The answer is not to abandon decarbonisation or environmental regulations. The answer is to fight for a just green transition, where farmers are better supported to make the necessary changes towards a more socially and ecologically just food system.
This article from The Conversation is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Alex Heffron does not work for, consult with, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and He has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond his academic appointment.
