Ministers' ‘blind optimism' puts future of farms at risk

The “blind optimism” shown by government ministers in their plans for the future of England’s farms could result in many small and tenant farmers being forced out of business, a parliamentary report has warned.

- ANDREW WOODCOCK

In the wake of Brexit, farmers in England are set to see direct payments – worth £1.8bn in 2019-20 under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – slashed by more than half by 2024/25 and removed entirely in 2027 as the government shifts to a new regime intended to boost productivity and improve stewardship of the countryside.

But a House of Commons committee report said that George Eustice’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to successfully deliver the programme.

And it said ministers were over-optimistic about the likelihood of making English farms more productive.

The end result of encouraging farmers to free up land for environmental purposes – such as woodland – is likely to be that England ends up importing more of its food, often from countries with worse environmental standards than Britain, said the report from the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

This would not only force up prices in the shops, but also make Britain more reliant on food from abroad.

With the average farm making a net profit of just £22,800 a year without subsidies, the committee said it feared that many small and tenant farmers operating on wafer-thin margins could be forced out of business.