More than 10% of farmland in England is set to be diverted towards helping to achieve Net Zero and protecting wildlife by 2050, the Environment Secretary will reveal today. The Telegraph has the story.
Swathes of the countryside are on course to be switched to solar farms, tree planting and improving habitats for birds, insects and fish.
The move is part of a consultation being launched by Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, on how the competing priorities of food production, Net Zero and nature should be reconciled in England.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates that 9% of farmland would need to be removed from food production by 2050 to meet green targets, the Telegraph understands. A further 5% is expected to be mostly taken out of production owing to a decreased level of food output, and another 4% will share space with trees.
Mr Reed will insist that his framework will not impose changes on landowners, but the figures are likely to reignite Labour’s row with farmers who expressed concerns that the strategy could lead to the Government telling them what they can grow and where.
The Government will say that the land use framework consultation,
which was first promised under the Conservatives, will protect the most
productive agricultural land....<<<Read More>>>...
