Farmers are crucial to the nation’s health, wellbeing and security
That was the message from Dr Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, during a debate on the financial sustainability of farming
Dr Chowns’s comments followed the Government’s publication of its new 25-year farming roadmap in June
While she welcomed the long-term focus of the roadmap, Dr Chowns said lasting change would require meaningful investment and fair regulations for farmers
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Dr Chowns said: “We need to recognise that farmers are central to our health, wellbeing and security as a nation, for three reasons
“The first is good food: we need to produce as much of our food as possible as locally as possible
“The second is good land: we need to care for our land – after all, it is the soil on which everything that farmers produce depends
“The third is good livelihoods: rural farming communities, such as mine in North Herefordshire, are entirely interlinked with health, wellbeing, and financial and ecological sustainability
“We need investment in farming, to enable farmers to transition to more nature-friendly and river-friendly methods, and to support the security and sustainability of farming in the UK.”
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She also stressed the importance of fair trading conditions for British farmers
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Dr Chowns said: “We cannot have our farmers undercut by imports produced to lower standards.”
The 25-year farming roadmap, launched by the Government on June 24, aims to improve profitability, productivity, and long-term sustainability in the sector
The plan includes £123 million for the Farming Innovation Programme, extra support for the poultry and horticultural sectors, and ongoing funding for nature-focused land management schemes
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Further support includes continued seasonal worker visas through 2030 and actions to reduce reliance on costly inputs such as fertilisers
West country MP Rachel Gilmour, Liberal Democrat representative for Tiverton and Minehead, also spoke at the debate and highlighted the financial challenges facing those in the sector
Ms Gilmour said: “I suspect that there is too often a perception in Whitehall that farmers do rather well
“Land rich perhaps, cash rich rarely. It is too rarely acknowledged that many farmers earn little more than £20,000 a year
“My region, the South West, has the lowest average farming business income of anywhere in the country, at just £35,100 per farm
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“My farmers are not landed gentry. They are people who work with their hands. They are up before dawn, toiling through the winter.”
Ms Gilmour also raised concerns that the roadmap did not go far enough to address food and farming challenges created by Brexit and called for urgent action to reduce trade friction with the EU
The debate underscored cross-party agreement on the need to improve financial security for farmers and support the future of British food production
