The challenge in tackling biodiversity changes is developing and implementing solutions and farmers are already playing a key role and will continue to do so, the NFU said today.

Responding to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report titled ‘Halting biodiversity loss’, NFU vice president Paul Temple said farmers were already doing a lot to meet the twin challenges of increasing food production while looking after the countryside and reducing our environmental footprint.

Temple said: “It is not surprising that over the last 50 years the distribution and scale of biodiversity has changed. During this time the UK’s population has grown from 47 million to 62m, the number of cars has increased ten-fold, developed land has increased to 14 per cent of the UK land area, and at the same time UK food production has increased beyond all recognition.

“Farmers take their role as countryside managers very seriously. Therefore when we gave evidence to the committee we argued that the challenge is to develop a more productive countryside that is also attractive and accessible to wildlife, the public and is good for soil and water quality.”

Among the steps taken by farmers to help ensure increased biodiversity is:

• 515,000 kilometres of hedgerows and another 90,000km of stone walls in England and Wales;

• 92 per cent of farmers have hedges on their farms and 82 per cent cut them at specific times to avoid nesting birds;

• 53 per cent of cereal farmers have used beetle banks or field margin management to encourage natural predators;

• 72 per cent of the agricultural managed Sites of Special Scientific Interest were in favourable or recovering condition in 2007;

• Farmers in England are growing wild bird seed mixtures on more than 5,000 hectares;

• The rapid decline in otter numbers from the 1950s to 1970s, with pollution of watercourses being one of the contributory factors, now appears to have halted and sightings are being reported in former habitats.

Temple said: “We believe that the widespread uptake of Environmental Stewardship which together with classic schemes now covers almost 65 per cent of the eligible agricultural land in England, is a keystone in rewarding farmers’ care and management of the countryside and ensuring enhanced biodiversity.

“But we also accept that farmers will need to go beyond simply adopting ES agreements. Across the industry annual soil protection reviews are now standard, and participation in the Voluntary Initiative on pesticides, as well as adoption of new technologies such as precision farming and more efficient nutrient management, will all yield environmental benefits.

“But it is also important that a comprehensive and universally recognised suite of indicators are used to recognise progress across the environmental spectrum. The environment is a broad agenda and actions and measures must reflect this.”

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