My Lords, the Government are planning to publish the first iteration of the farming road map, on growing England’s future,later this year. The Government are working together with farmers to develop the road map and set the course of farming for the next 25 years. The ultimate aim is to maintain food production, meet our environmental outcomes, and deliver a thriving and profitable farming sector.
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for the confirmation that the road map will be published later this year. Generally, what will the timeline for implementation be? Specifically, will it take forward recommendation 12 of the Corry review, which made it clear that we must
“reform slurry application and storage to help address diffuse water pollution from agricultural sources”,
implementing
“a single set of regulations which farmers can understand and comply with”?
My Lords, as I said, the first iteration will be published later this year. As we are still in the process of determining the content of the road map, and therefore the timetable of implementation, I am unable to give a detailed answer to my noble friend. We will publish more details in due course. I can assure her that we are continuing with targeted engagement right across the sector in order that we can agree a collective vision and shape the first version of the farming road map through discussion with stakeholders.
My Lords, does the Minister share my concern at the loss of farmland, to the tune of 10%, through the proposed clean energy projects? Will she ensure that the road map rolls back this land grab and ensures that all grade 1, 2 and 3 farmland—the most productive land—will remain in farm production, putting food security and self-sufficiency at the heart of the road map?
I assure the noble Baroness that food production and self-sufficiency will be at the heart of the road map as it is developed. We work very closely with DESNZ around where energy projects are sited. With the land use framework also being developed, there is a lot of discussion about the best use of farmland, because we do not want good agricultural land taken out of food production.
My Lords, in order to meet the combined objectives of food security and nature recovery, we need a much more nature-friendly form of farming. However, to make that transition, it is absolutely essential that we have a much firmer policy framework that people in farming can predict. When will the sustainable farming initiative be reinstated? Beyond that, can the Minister say that there will be an end to the stop-start funding that is so difficult for farmers when it comes to their own planning?
One of the challenges that has faced farming for many years is the lack of long-term security. The noble Lord is absolutely right to raise that. We are currently discussing the next stages of the SFI, so I do not have information about the dates at the moment. We will of course announce that when we have more information. We want to make sure that the next iteration of the SFI is fit for purpose and will deliver what we need the farming sector to deliver. On the noble Lord’s questions on nature and the environment, it is absolutely imperative that we get this right. We have to ensure that food production and support for nature and biodiversity work together, hand-in-hand, to create the long-term environment that we need for our country.
My Lords, I declare my farming interests in Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire. I welcome the road map, but can the Minister confirm that fruit and vegetable growers will be very much part of this review? The removal of the fruit and vegetable aid scheme has caused considerable distress among those growers, and the fact that the scheme still exists in Scotland means that our fruit and vegetable growers are no longer competing on a level playing field.
We are very keen to ensure that horticulture remains at the heart of any future farming plans. If we are to have a thriving food sector and become more sustainable, fruit and vegetables will clearly be critical to that, as currently we import so much of them. Obviously, I cannot say what will be included in the road map, but horticulture is at the heart of our discussions.
My Lords, can my noble friend explain why it is called a road map? Is it going to include all those new roads that I hope the Government are not going to build over farmland? Can we not have a better name for it?
I refer the House to my entry on the register of interests as a farmer. Part of the new deal for farmers, published in January by the Secretary of State, was to diversify income streams for farmers. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, as drafted, will divert nature restoration levies away from farmers to Natural England. Can the Minister explain to your Lordships’ House why this should not be taken as a reduction in diversification opportunities for farmers?
As I said, food production, diversification and improvements in the environment are the three central pillars of the road map that we are developing—we are extremely keen to ensure that diversification is part of it. One problem that many farmers have faced in the past is not being able to get through the planning applications that are so critical to diversification. Again, that is something that we are looking at as part of our reform of the planning system.
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister will be aware that over 60% of the food we have here comes over the water to this country. Bearing in mind that we are about to have a national security strategy and a strategic defence review, can she confirm that Defra has been very involved with putting into this review the fact that we are an island nation and so need to ensure that we have security of the water over which all of this food passes?
Food security is not just about what we grow in this country; it is also about what we import. We can never grow everything that we need, so having security of the waters is critical. I am certain that the noble Lord would support any work that Defra is doing to ensure that we have that security. Border Force does a lot of work as well, which is critical.