We were concerned to read the news recently that nature-friendly farming support will potentially be cut in the next budget. Across the board - in policies relating to food access, farming, climate, rivers and more, nature-friendly farming has been recommended as a solution and as guidance in so many areas.
The Nature Friendly Farming Network, Pasture for Life and a number of other organisations are supporting this petition from the RSPB - we are also supporting it.
We have contacted the two Herefordshire MPs alerting them of both the issue and the petition, and will bring it up with them when we meet for the Parliamentary Day of Action being organised through Sustainable Food Places next month.
You can sign the petition here calling for more investment in nature-friendly farming. 89 people have signed in North Herefordshire, and 59 in the South - let's increase those numbers!
https://action.rspb.org.uk/page/156168/petition/1
"Dear Chancellor Rachel Reeves,
To grow food, we need nature. The UK Government must increase annual investment now to £5.9bn in nature-friendly farming.
Nature gives us the very things on which all food production depends and helps us tackle climate change. To make sure we can grow the food we need in the future, we must value the part nature plays and put it at the heart of the way we farm. If we do, with 70% of the UK farmed, it could also see the beginnings of a revival for so much of our wildlife with which we share these lands.
The UK Government can’t kick this down the road – you must ring-fence funding now for nature-friendly farming across all four UK countries. New independent research says increasing investment to £5.9bn a year across the UK is essential to meet legally binding nature and climate targets, and to improve the resilience of the UK food and farming industry.
The UK Government must make investing in nature-friendly farming a priority
We don’t just want nature-friendly farming. We need it.
Please act now!"