New CPRE report published – ‘New model farming: resilience through diversity’

As part of its Food and Farming Foresight series, National CPRE has issued a new report ‘New model farming: resilience through diversity’. 

In the first of its Food and Farming Foresight series, providing evidence-based research papers that support innovative policy solutions to critical food and farming issues, National CPRE has published ‘New model farming: resilience through diversity’ (July 2016). The report argues that farming in England needs to become more diverse to prove environmentally resilient and publicly accessible over the coming years.

Key messages: 

• Brexit gives us the opportunity to develop the innovative, resilient farming sector we need for the future.
• Current farming policy is too focused on short-term efficiency, competitiveness and productivity – creating a trend towards ever larger farms.
• The industrialisation of farming has inflicted damage on landscapes, wildlife, soils and water
• There is an ever growing disconnect between people and farming.
• We need a more diverse farming sector that is better able to cope with future market and environmental pressures.

How the Government could make this happen:

• Making more land available to new groups and young people, encouraging dynamism and diversity in farming.
• Tapering public funding so that smaller farms benefit from more support.
• Encouraging the use of low cost technologies and techniques.
• Recognising and rewarding the functions of farming that go beyond food production: beautiful landscapes, clean water, abundant wildlife, carbon storage, flood management and recreational resources.

Find out more:

See the National CPRE website.  

 

CPRE Oxfordshire, 1 September