BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Hopes for rural recovery in 2023
It was a difficult year for the environment, farmers and wider rural life in 2022. Will the delivery of improvements in wildlife protection and an easing of the cost of living improve 2023 for rural communities? Mark Rowe asks seven experts about their hopes for the months ahead
ALICE HARDIMAN
RSPB England head of policy and advocacy
“2022 was a tumultuous year for nature. Avian influenza sustained its assault on our seabird and wading bird populations throughout summer and a difficult winter. From puffins and gannets to barnacle geese and swans, the spread across all four corners of the UK has been unprecedented, putting species such as the great skua at risk of global extinction. In Westminster, long-standing protections of our wildlife were threatened by an attack on nature.
“Pressures on our natural world mustn’t be dealt with in isolation. This year must see UK governments implement a long-term vision to guarantee wildlife, our best places for nature and our own futures are on the path to recovery and protection by 2030.
“With commitment and ambition, the UK could become a leader on the world stage when it comes to fighting the nature and climate emergency. Now is the time for governments across the UK to step up and commit to actions that will breathe life back into our seas, land and air.
“The strain on our seabirds needs to be reduced through sustainable fishing and increased protection of nesting and feeding sites. Farmers, landowners and businesses can champion nature-positive approaches while delivering food security, cleaner air and water.”
MINETTE BATTERS
NFU president
“More challenge and change is inevitable in 2023, but British farmers can and want to be part of the solutions needed. After years of safe, continuous supply, our food and where it comes from has now become a national conversation. Extreme weather events, from flooding to drought, soaring energy costs and the war in Ukraine disrupting food supply in ways we hadn’t imagined, means global food security is now a priority.
“In Britain, we take pride in our farmers who produce high-quality, sustainable food while caring for our environment. As the primary suppliers to the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink – we contribute more than £100 billion to the national economy. Farmers are central to the rural community and deliver in ways that often go unnoticed, from clearing snow-blocked roads and supporting the fire services in remote areas, to championing mental health. In 2023, such action is going to have even more resonance. From producing more renewable energy and more climate-friendly food, the farming sector can help Britain thrive. Working in partnership with decision-makers is key to deliver our collective success, and that is my aim and my hope for the coming year.”
MATT SHARDLOW
Buglife chief executive
“Invertebrate life is in crisis – between 2004 and 2021 we lost 59% of our flying insects in the UK. At this rate of decline, pollination and other essential ecosystem services are at risk of failure. Habitats for specialist species are so fragmented that populations have become stranded and the intervening habitats are usually flower-poor, pesticide-ridden, deluged with light pollution and increasingly damaged by invasive species. “To turn around these and other wildlife declines, the Government must do more than reverse the cuts in investment in protecting the environment. It must fund habitat restoration and recreation and ensure flower-rich habitats are reconnected with insect pathways [such as BugLife’s B-Lines]. It must take action to protect bees and other wildlife from pesticides, light pollution and the importation of invasive species – including setting ambitious reduction targets and introducing the measures to achieve them.
“2023 will see new efforts from charities. The ‘Species on the Edge’ project in Scotland will start a Lottery-funded project to save 37 species from extinction.”
CATE BARROW
Director of ADAS, an agriculture and environmental consultancy
“Farmers love to moan about the weather, but this year and maybe future years, the climate will have the biggest influence on how they farm. Those subject to drought have struggled with fodder supplies and had to buy expensive feed for their stock, despite sky-high fertiliser prices caused by the war in Ukraine and other market forces.
“There is downward pressure to keep food prices as low as possible, but production costs are rising and farmers are squeezed in the middle. Farmers use a good deal of energy to produce the food we eat, such as electricity to power milking parlours, heaters for greenhouses and poultry units. They use massive amounts of diesel to plough and harvest their fields. Farmers are not immune to the hikes in energy costs, and dairy and arable farmers in particular face major cost challenges. Many farmers have borrowed money to meet essential investment in machinery and buildings to maintain high standards of animal welfare. They will be dreading the hikes in interest rates that are coming through.
“Post-Brexit, farmers are being asked to undertake more environmental work. Many are embracing this but need more certainty about time scales and payment rates. Labour supply is a particular issue in sectors such as intensive horticulture.”
MARK LLOYD
The Rivers Trust chief executive
“We will need coherence in policy in 2023, more collaborative working between organisations, more consensus and fewer plans that never get delivered.
“Given the scale of the biodiversity, water quantity/quality and climate change challenges, we cannot afford to solve one problem at a time. We need to invest in large actions that address multiple issues simultaneously, with multiple funders.
“Cleaning up rivers in 2023 should be carried out alongside action on nature recovery, flood protection, drought resilience, healthy access to nature, soil health remediation, carbon sequestration and addressing social deprivation. The best way to tackle many of the appalling sewage overflows is to make space for nature in our cities and allow water to soak into the ground, rather than flooding homes and overloading sewers.
“We need robust data so that people understand the dynamics of their local river, what’s poisoning it and how they can play a part in cleaning it up. Government needs to realise that strong regulation is vital to hold polluters to account.”
SEAN RICKARD
Independent economic analyst
“Many farm businesses achieved reasonable incomes last year, but the outlook is challenging. Although inflation is set to fall, the rate of increase in farm input prices will slow while farm-gate prices will decline, now that global agricultural prices have passed their peak and household food expenditure responds to recession. Farming, however, is resilient and the global opportunities for UK food products are enormous. The ill-conceived Brexit plan to rely on food imports is giving way to a more enlightened emphasis on UK-produced food and the recognition that farming is primarily a food producer; that is, environmental issues are constraints not the priority.
“Despite labour shortages, Defra’s policy chaos and budget cuts, farmers and their processor customers could do much to improve economic outcomes by replacing a culture of competition with collaboration. Increasingly, food-chain competitiveness rests on attributes such as sustainable intensive production and high animal welfare standards. It’s time to make food-chain partnerships a reality: a fair sharing of the risks and rewards to enable farm-level investment in technologies.”
HARRY BOWELL
National Trust director of land and nature
“We are approaching tipping points that will make climate breakdown irreversible, so we need to increase the urgency of action. In 2023 we want to see the Government commit to green growth and create sustainable long-term prosperity throughout the economy, partly by delivering net zero by 2050. This means reversing nature loss, rolling out properly funded farm payment schemes that reward farmers to deliver for nature while producing good food, and planning development in a way that protects and enhances our natural and historic environment. This also involves investing in solutions to climate change, such as restoring peatlands. It also means speeding up action on home insulation and energy efficiency and transitioning to clean, green renewable energy. “Ministers should double down on strong protections for nature, heritage and landscape, and invest in delivering the Government’s target of ensuring at least 30% of our land is well managed for nature by 2030.”