Green shoots, but the UK needs more

By Jane Campbell

3rd March 2021

Responding to the Chancellor's Spring Budget 2021, FFCC's Director of Policy and Research Tom Burston said,

"We welcome the green shoots announced in the budget. But what more can the government do to show the necessary leadership to nurture and accelerate the real green recovery we desperately need?

To support a zero emissions future and underpin a green recovery, the Bank of England can work closely with decisions about land use across the UK.

To finance a transition to agroecology by 2030, the National Infrastructure Bank can be boosted with an Agroecological Development Bank.

To meet commitments to training and skills to deliver thousands of jobs, the UK can establish a National Nature Service.

To ensure that fresh, fair and healthy food is reliably accessible the hearts of our towns, urban regeneration funds can be linked with local food plans."

Together the FFCC's two recent papers Farming Smarter and Farming for Change show that agroecology can feed a future UK population and provide farmers with a sound business model fit for the future too.