Yesterday’s Oxford Farming Conference (9 January 2024) saw Tesco’s chief commercial officer, Ashwin Prasad calling for government to set a clearer vision for sustainable agriculture, including greater investment and clarity around policy.
This follows research conducted by Tesco in collaboration with Harper Adams University which saw more than 300 UK farmers share their views on the future sustainability of the industry.
The survey found that 74% of farmers surveyed are concerned about the impact of climate change on their farms, with 67% already seeing the effects. Yet, 76% say they haven’t been able to implement all the environmental measures they want to as a result of high upfront costs, risk of poor financial returns and a lack of policy certainty.
Tesco wants the Government to set improve funding for sustainability innovation and set common environmental standards which farmers can regularly measure against to help prioritise investment into the most effective and sustainable farming techniques.
At the same time, the supermarket has said it will continue to support the industry to implement clearer sustainability requirements and standards; working with farmers to simplify and standardise data collection; and exploring new models and incentives that could help farmers manage investment risk.
Tesco low-carbon farm trials
To this end, Tesco will be working with two of its suppliers to trial new technologies, with a view to share learnings on scaling the adoption of sustainable approaches.
The farms – one in partnership with potato supplier Branston and one in partnership with livestock processor, ABP – will explore current and future innovations such as low carbon fertilisers, alternative fuels, state-of-the-art cold storage, and carbon removal techniques, as well as innovation in other areas including soil health, grazing management, biodiversity assessment and management, and genetic improvements.
“As the biggest customer of UK agriculture, we know providing our customers with healthy, affordable and sustainable food wouldn’t be possible without the expertise and dedication of our farmers across the country,” said Prasad.
“But to continue to thrive in the future, the industry needs more certainty and support. Many of the solutions we need exist today, but government and the food industry need to make sure we have the right incentives in place so that UK agriculture can reach its potential as a driver of both sustainability and economic growth.
“We’ve already been working with farmers to help them reduce their environmental impact, from providing incentives to farmers to measure their carbon footprint to rolling out new innovations like low carbon fertilisers. We’re pleased to be building on this further with our new low carbon test farms, working with some of our supplier partners to pioneer new approaches to understand the most effective ways to reduce emissions and environmental impact, while continuing to bring the British public great quality food, at a price they can afford.”
What is government doing to support farmers?
The Oxford Farming Conference saw the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rusal Affairs Steve Reed make a number of promises to further support farmers, as farmers gathered outside the venue in another protest against the inheritance tax raid announced last year.
Promises from government included actions around planning permissions, flood defences, grid connectivity and an ambitious goal of driving more local produce in schools, army bases and prisons.
Reed also noted that the Government needs to “make it easier for farmers to take part in research and benefit from agri-tech”.
To aid this the latest part of its Farming Innovation Programme, the ADOPT fund, will launch in the Spring. This will fund farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application.
Moreover, he confirmed that secondary legislation will be introduced to Parliament by the end of March, unlocking new precision breeding technology that will allow farmers to grow crops that are more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease, resilient to climate change and benefit the environment.
More details about Reed’s speech can be found here.
