Race to rewild Britain is putting food security at risk, farmers say

A race to ‘rewild’ Britain by ministers is putting food security at risk, farmers have said.

Landowners fear that the Government is too focused on restoring agricultural land to its natural state as part of a push to hit net zero, without considering the impact on crops and livestock.

Around 84pc of rural businesses said the Government’s focus on food security is too weak, according to a report by Knight Frank.

Tom Heathcote, head of agricultural consultancy at the business, said: “Farmers believe land should be allocated for agricultural use rather than for rewilding or less intensive farming practices.”

The Ukraine war and climate change have put pressure on farmers to produce more food as shelves empty out, with sunflower oil and wheat particularly badly affected by the invasion.

There was also a shortage of tomatoes earlier this year, after bad weather spells in Morocco and Spain left importers struggling to find them.

The Government is pushing for land to be rewilded as part of efforts to protect native plant and animal species and cut the country’s carbon footprint.

Ministers last year unveiled plans to restore 300,000 hectares of wildlife habitat by 2042.

Tom Bradshaw, deputy president at the National Farmers Union, said: “Land isn’t infinite. We need to strike a careful balance so we can both produce food and benefit the environment.

“With a growing population, it’s important we have productive farm systems to produce more of our food, while also working to encourage wildlife, benefit our soils and water, and reduce our impact on the climate. Otherwise we risk reducing sustainable, high welfare production here, only to import the shortfall from countries which don’t follow our high standards.

“It’s clear that Britain needs a greater, long-term political focus on food security.”

Food and drink inflation came in close to 45-year highs at 18.4pc in May, down from 19.1pc in the year to April 2023.

Around 60pc of farmers also said that land values are likely to rise in the next two years, making it difficult for them to buy land to grow on.

Lord Benyon, green finance minister, said: “There’s always going to be a debate about how we use land which is a creative tension between what’s set aside for nature recovery and food production – but we are very clear that sustainable food production and caring for the environment not only can, but must, go hand in hand.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “Food production is the primary purpose of farming, and our through our new environmental land management schemes we pay farmers to take actions that are good for the farm, good for food production and good for the environment.