The Climate Change Committee’s new report lays bare the scale of the challenge facing UK farming, with the Soil Association calling it a “stark and frightening reality check”
The latest report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) delivers a “frightening reality check” about the likely impact of the climate crisis on UK food security, as well as national security, according to the Soil Association.
“This report serves as a stark and frightening reality check for government on how climate change will risk our food security and national security,” said Gareth Morgan, head of farming policy at the Soil Association. “Our food system is dangerously vulnerable to shocks like war and climate change, and we need to prioritise resilience through nature-friendly farming.”
The Soil Association praised the report’s recognition that diets need to change, in addition to the importance of soil health, water management and biodiversity, as well as the benefits of agroforestry and agroecology.
However, it questioned the wisdom of basing the modelling on existing government policy on import volumes. “[This] means that the question of where our food will come from in future is left unresolved,” said Morgan. “In an increasingly flooded and drought-stressed world, it is dangerous for us to continue with our current reliance on imports, especially for fruit and veg.
“The government urgently needs to double production and consumption of British fruit and veg and the much-anticipated Horticulture Growth Plan should set out how this can be achieved. We also want to see a plan to increase the growing of beans, peas and pulses that can provide nitrogen for crops without artificial fertiliser. And we must ensure this is produced by nature-friendly methods like organic which don’t rely on fossil-fuel based inputs and prioritise healthy soils that are more resilient to flooding and drought.”
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) welcomed many of the recommendations to government in the CCC’s report, including the removal of regulatory barriers preventing farmers from adapting their businesses, providing incentives to adapt and giving growers access to the skills and training they need.
“The report is clear that farming has become increasingly challenging in the UK - changing weather patterns are already hitting yields, farm incomes and long-term business confidence,” said NFU deputy president Paul Tompkins. “This is not helped by growing geopolitical uncertainty, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East resulting in rising costs for fuel, fertiliser and energy.
“We welcome the CCC’s recognition of how extreme weather impacts farming and agree that we can still grow domestic food production, but only if government helps farming adapt now. That means backing on farm water storage, dynamic water abstraction, soil resilience, lowering disease prevalence and removing barriers to growth.
“This report emphasises our long-term ask that government must continue to work hand-in-hand with farmers to target investment in adaption as well as food production and the environment so our members can continue to produce food in a changing climate.”
