Former NFU president Minette Batters has been appointed by Defra to lead a new Farm Profitability Review.
The now Baroness Batters – who was appointed a life peer by former prime minister Rishi Sunak last July – will provide recommendations on farm profitability both to Defra secretary Steve Reed and farming minister Daniel Zeichner, supported by a new Profitability Unit within Defra.
Listening to farmers and growers would be “at the heart of Baroness Batters’ work, covering all land areas and sectors of the industry, as well as engaging with other government departments whose work impacts farmers”, Defra said.
The cross-bencher, who has not been afraid to criticise government policy in recent months, will provide short, medium and long-term recommendations and propose actions for government and industry that will support farming profitability as part of this government’s ‘new deal for farmers’, Defra added.
The appointment of Batters comes as the government attempts to shift the dial when it comes to relations with the farming sector following outcry over the Treasury’s changes to Inheritance Tax liabilities for farming businesses and Defra’s abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive last month.
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That move prompted Batters’ successor as NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, to say he had lost all trust in Defra, with the premature ending of the current SFI scheme set to leave thousands of farms out of pocket and big question marks over the long-term future of sustainable food production within many cash-strapped businesses.
Confidence within the farming sector is also at an all-time low, according to the NFU’s recently-published Farmer Confidence Survey.
Defra said Batters’ review would also help with the development of the government’s Food Strategy, upcoming Farming Roadmap and the Land Use Framework, and build on other work such as the review of Defra’s regulatory landscape.
Her aim was “to help ensure our farming sector is more viable, self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term”, it added.
“Backing British farmers is the backbone of all work to support rural economic growth and boost Britain’s food security,” said environment secretary Steve Reed.
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“We have taken strong action to protect the future of the sector with the New Deal for Farmers. But we must go further and faster as part of our Plan for Change to put money into the pockets of farmers and drive growth.”
Batters was “uniquely placed to provide recommendations on tackling the deep-rooted problems holding the sector back and support farmers’ long-term profits”, Reed added.
She pledged to “leave no stone unturned in trying to find solutions to boost farm profitability”.
However, Batters also warned “we should be under no illusions how difficult this work will be”.
There would not be one ‘silver bullet’ to fire “but I’m hopeful this review can make a difference to a sector that produces the nation’s food, underpins the rural economy and delivers so much for the environment”.
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