Climate Jury Session Six

Preston People's Climate Jury Session 5 - Food and farming

The sixth session of the Preston People's Climate Jury, covered the topic of food and farming.

Adam Briggs, Policy Manager in National Farmers Union (NFU) in the North of England

The National Farmers Union (NFU) represents farmers and raises their concerns with policy makers and politicians. Adam provided some background on agriculture in Lancashire and the suitability of different categories of farmland for different uses.

A large share is suitable for livestock and dairy as it can only support grass, not other types of production.

About 10% of the UK's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from agriculture and these include methane, which comes mainly from livestock; nitrous oxide from fertiliser; and carbon dioxide from farm vehicles. Emission reductions have been only modest since 2011 but there are a lot of things that can address this. This is because many land management activities, including growing crops and planting trees, can capture carbon and contribute in this way to delivering net zero GHG emissions on farmland.

The wider context of food production is one of increasing global demand as the world's population is expected to increase to 9.5 billion by 2050. This will require a 25% increase in food production, even as 800 million people already experience food insecurity. With respect to climate change, the polarisation of debate between meat based and plant-based diets adds an additional challenge as this can make it very difficult to engage with farmers, especially as 65% of farmland in the UK is only suitable for growing grass for livestock. Despite this, there are opportunities for change which can benefit farmers and the climate, including regenerative agriculture, improving the efficiency of production, making greater use of biotechnology and integrating carbon sequestration into land management.

Katherine Oddie, Ribble Rivers Trust

Katherine is working with farmers on flooding and land management in Lancashire, focusing on the 'win wins' - winning for the environment and for farmers.

Good soil management is key, including avoiding soil compaction and managing nutrients, like slurry and land manure. Creating woodland and hedgerows is also very important, especially in areas that are difficult to access, or near water courses, as this stabilises riverbanks and helps maintain the river quality. Another priority is natural flood management to keep water in the upper areas of catchments and slow its flow downstream.

Sven Batke, Reader in Plant Sciences. Edgehill University

Greenhouse horticulture and its challenges in Lancashire

Lancashire was a lead producer of horticulture after 1945 but that changed in the 1980s when cheap imports flooded the market. Recovery since then has been slow, and investment limited, so almost three quarters of greenhouses are over 40 years old. In recent years there has been a shift away from family businesses to a sector dominated by a few large companies. In terms of the area under greenhouse production, in the UK this is only 1,100 ha, compared to 10,000 ha in the Netherlands. Production nationally is way below demand, so the UK relies on imports for between 60% and 80% of fruits and tomatoes.

The challenges facing the industry intensified in 2022 with a 45% shortfall in labour especially for harvesting because of Brexit and changing conditions in eastern Europe. Quality is another challenge with limited innovation in the sector. Greenhouses use a lot of energy for additional light and warmth so recent price hikes have had a very negative impact on farmers and the government provided no help in response. Another challenge for the industry is that it uses peat, which is an important carbon store, so its extraction for use in horticulture releases carbon into the atmosphere, adding to the problem of climate change.

Despite all the challenges, investment in new and better designed greenhouses could create a more sustainable industry to meet local demand for fruit and vegetables and a ban on the use of peat would reduce the sector's negative impact on the climate.