18 Proposals For An Agricultural Reform Bill

F.M.C. OUTLINE POLICY PROPOSALS FOR A UK AGRICULTURAL REFORM BILL   Introduction   Lack of self-sufficient Food security and profitability are the two primary problems facing agriculture at this time although there are also a number of important secondary issues such...

Adopt a Maximization Approach to Circular Self-Sufficient Food Security. The often-quoted figure that we are 60% self-sufficient in terms of our food security is in my opinion simply not good enough for an island nation with 70 million mouths to feed in unstable...

Addressing Farm Profitability through Flexible Protectionism. The support of farm profitability through a minimum profitable price (MPP) guarantee. Knowing how to best financially protect farming from the negative consequences of market turbulence is key to the...

Raising Of the Annual Agricultural Budget By 58% from 3.6 Billion To 5.7 Billion. Alongside our other proposals aimed at tackling the profitability crisis in agriculture such as the Minimum Profitable Price Guarantee and the Cumulative Low Interest Loan Scheme for...

A Cumulative Low Interest Loan Scheme for Farming   Along with our Minimum Price Protection guarantee scheme and higher annual agricultural budget recommendation we aim to tackle the profitability crisis in farming with the creation of a cumulative low interest loan...

Protect Farmland from Greenfield Solar   Progressive year on year decline in our Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) combined with a progressive year on year increase in the UK population will inevitably lead to a further reliance on imports and a higher exposure to...

Honesty in All Food Labelling   The NFU and farming campaign groups such as Save British Farming have been calling for the definition of a set of codes relating to core production standards which can be used on all food labelling in the UK (including imports) and we...

The strengthening of protections for farmers within Farm Business Tenancies   Over 30% of agricultural land in England and Wales is in some form of farm business tenancy so the importance of good regulation around tenancies cannot be underestimated. Not only are...

The prevention of foreign ownership of farmland   British farmland is a natural asset for the national good of the British people and it must remain that way, its preservation and necessity should never be overlooked therefore foreign corporate or private ownership of...

The maximisation of British produce procurement in public food supply contracts   Public institutions such as schools, hospitals and prisons etc should be legally obliged to purchase British produce not to a certain quota level but whenever it’s available. Derogation...

The creation of tax and business rate breaks for farm shops and small producers   This would support beneficial diversification enterprise and help farmers and growers to be competitive in the retail space. Furthermore, it would encourage consumers to buy direct and...

The prohibition of loss leading sales tactics on any fresh produce by supermarkets   Give legal powers to the groceries code adjudicator to prevent this type of marketing activity which undermines the public perception of the real cost of fresh produce. To be clear,...

The improvement of subsidy support for woodland wildlife corridor creation   There is a clear benefit to woodland creation in certain circumstances and although this would need to be tightly regulated so as to not endanger food security we support this form of...

The promotion of bio fuel crop production on marginal or flood prone land   Independent energy security is also of vital national interest therefore biofuel production is a good second best option to food production in flood plain and other at risk areas and we would...

The continuation of research and development into regenerative farming practices   Farming techniques are continually evolving and we can farm in ways which enhance long term food system security without compromising on yield or our self-sufficient food security. For...

Reform the Agricultural Transition Plan subsidy schemes to improve self sufficiency in food production   The post Brexit Agricultural Transition Plan has seen subsidy support for farmers go from a politically neutral land area-based scheme to one which incentivises...

Support for Micro Agriculture and Small Scale Land Based Enterprises   The primary layer of the rural economy comprises of micro agriculture and small-scale land based enterprises. It is vitally important and must never be underestimated or left unsupported. The fact...

Cloud Seeding and other Geo-engineering Weather Modification Programmes in UK Airspace   Recent reporting (16/4/24) on mainstream media (Good Morning Britain, ITV) that cloud seeding was responsible for the catastrophic deluge rain events in Dubai have ended at least...

Support for young farmers and new entrants into agriculture    Any industry which fails to address falling recruitment or renewal rates is firmly on course to encounter problems at some point in its future. With relation to farming these problems will inevitably mean...