Government Publishes Its Vision for Farming

On 20th June, the Government published its much anticipated Farming Roadmap setting out its vision for the sectors journey towards 2050.

River Action welcomes the Government’s recognition that restoring nature and producing food must go hand-in-hand. The Farming Roadmap rightly acknowledges that healthy rivers, soils and ecosystems are fundamental to resilient food production, and its emphasis on nature-friendly farming represents an important step in the right direction.

However, this vision will only succeed if it is reflected consistently across government policy. Plans that enable further expansion of intensive livestock production, particularly in already polluted catchments, undermines the very objectives the roadmap sets out to achieve.

The evidence is clear that many of England’s rivers are already under severe pressure from nutrient pollution. Supporting nature-friendly farming while allowing pollution from industrial agricultural systems to increase sends mixed signals to farmers and communities alike.