Tesco urges gov to deliver plan for UK agriculture

Tesco is calling on the government to provide a clear and comprehensive plan to support UK farmers transition to net zero as it announces new plans to set up two low carbon concept farms in its supply chain to trial low carbon farming methods and help suppliers accelerate innovation. Speaking in a session at the Oxford Farming Conference, Tesco’s chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad has urged the government to set a clear vision for sustainable agriculture, including greater investment and policy certainty, to enable the industry to drive sustainable economic growth. The recommendations are based on a new report, produced by Tesco in collaboration with Harper Adams University, which consulted more than 300 UK farmers on the future sustainability of the industry. The research found 74% of farmers surveyed are concerned about the impact of climate change on their farms and two thirds (67%) are already seeing the effects. Three quarters however (76%) haven’t been able to implement all the environmental measures they want to due to high upfront costs, the risk of poor financial returns and a lack of policy certainty from the government. Tesco is calling on the government to better support UK farmers through a long-term land use and food security strategy, improved funding for all stages of innovation that aids sustainability, and setting common environmental standards which farmers can regularly measure against to help prioritise investment in the most effective and sustainable farming techniques. At the same time, the supermarket 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. The call to action comes as Tesco announces plans with key suppliers for two low carbon concept farms in its UK supply chain. The multi-year commitment from Tesco will see the farms trial new technologies and share learnings to scale the adoption of sustainable approaches. The farms 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. They will aim to provide farmers in Tesco’s supply network with a practical demonstration of a route to net zero, helping pave the way to more low carbon farms in the future. Prasad said: “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. But to continue to thrive in the future, the industry needs more certainty and support. Many of the solutions we need exist today, but the 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.”