Kemi Badenoch visited a farm in Cheshire on Friday (Image: PA)
Keir Starmer should be making life easier for farmers, has warned.
Nearly 10% of farmland in England could be diverted towards helping to achieve net zero and protecting wildlife by 2050, the Environment Secretary said today.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that 9% of farmland would need to be removed from food production by 2050 to meet green targets.
The figures were revealed as part of the Government’s land use framework consultation.
Speaking on Friday, Mrs Badenoch told broadcasters on a visit to a farm in Cheshire: “I’m just worried that we are adding even more burdens on farmers.
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“I have been talking to farmers all of this year, since the budget. What they are doing with the family farm tax, the family business tax, the rise in national insurance, is killing farmers in our country.
“To add even more burdens saying that we are going to spend more time on net zero shows they are not serious. We need to talk about food security and food production and making life easier for farmers, not harder.”
Steve Reed recently sought to reset relations with farmers after proposed changes to inheritance tax became a political flashpoint for an industry crippled by rising costs, tough market conditions and worsening climate impacts.
Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth’s head of policy, said: “As one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, the UK has an urgent need to restore wildlife as well as build more homes, develop homegrown renewables to reduce energy bills and increase farming resilience to climate change. This may sound like an impossible task, but it isn’t.
“Many solar farms already boost wildflowers and pollinators. Windfarms and agriculture already co-exist. Tree planting can mitigate floods and store carbon. And farmers can be more economically secure if they are also paid for restoring nature and hosting renewables, alongside the crops they produce.
“Failure to adapt to the land-use challenges we face will see more crops ruined by flooding, a continuing decline in our bees and butterflies, reduced energy security and higher household bills.
“A forward-thinking land-use plan is long overdue and can benefit everyone if we are smart about it.”
It comes after Rachel Reeves placed a 20% inheritance tax on farmers’ assets worth more than £1 million in her October Budget from April next year.
Tax breaks previously designed to allow family farms to pass down the generations were exempt from the 40% duty.
The Daily Express’s Save Britain’s Family Farm crusade has demanded a U-turn on the changes which come into force next year.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Reed said: “The primary purpose of farming will always be to produce food that feeds the nation.
“This framework will give decision makers the toolkit they need to protect our highest quality agricultural land.”