Farmers in the UK must eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 in order to compete successfully with other nations on environmental standards, according to National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters. Farms should aim for net-zero “across all greenhouse gas inventories,” she said during a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference this week.
Batters said that, while the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates UK beef production is 2.5 times more efficient than the world average, it could do better, writes The Independent. And since UK consumers are proud of the high quality of food produced in the UK, it is crucial for farmers to ensure the continuity of that high quality by working with the government to ensure a “sustainable, competitive and profitable farming sector for generations to come,” she added.
While environmental groups fear the NFU’s strategy to curb emissions does not go far enough, some farmers worry that the proposals could ultimately reduce UK food production, according to Business Green.
Another worry is the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and how that will impact British food and farming. “What we need is clarity as, after nearly two and a half years since the referendum took place, we are still no closer to finding out the details of our future relationship with the EU, what kind of trading environment we could be operating under in the future and where our future workforce will come from,” Batters wrote in an NFU New Year’s message.
Should Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit plan - which calls for a structured exit and relatively close economic ties - not be approved by British lawmakers, it could mean there would be no trade deal with the European Union and no transition period when the UK exits the EU. A no-deal Brexit would “spawn massive uncertainty over the country’s next steps,” writes CNBC.
“We have outlined repeatedly that a no-deal Brexit means disruption and delays at borders, technical restrictions and the threat of import tariffs, to name but a few,” Batters wrote, going so far as to call a no-deal Brexit “nothing short of catastrophic... threatening livelihoods and severely undermining farm businesses."
Despite all the Brexit uncertainty, however, it is “crucial that we continue to highlight the important role farming plays in protecting and enhancing the environment,” Batters added.
Economic growth should be possible while at the same time reducing resource use, the NFU stated in a new report. From 1990 to 2016, the total volume of agricultural output increased. In the same period, the number of key agricultural emissions decreased - but the reduction appears to have plateaued since around 2007, the report said. “We need to work together to re-energize this historic trend and ensure further decoupling of environmental pressures from food production.”
