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20 May 2026
For the first time in this country’s history, the government has ‘committed to the future of farming beyond the next harvest’ with a landmark roadmap designed to end years of uncertainty.
The move marks ‘the most significant moment for English agriculture since the second world war’, the government said.
Farmers produce around 65% of the nation’s food, manage 70% of England’s land and underpin the £153 billion agri-food sector recognised as Critical National Infrastructure. With the growing impacts of extreme weather and climate, ‘Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England’s Future’ sets out how farmers can adapt through nature-based solutions such as improved soil health and water management.
Developed in partnership with farmers, the roadmap outlines the ways in which the government will provide long-term stability. Backed by immediate action from the government’s response to Baroness Minette Batters’ independent Farming Profitability Review, farmers will have better access to the tools, technology, skills and supply chains they need to invest, innovate and grow.
‘A plan that recognises farmers urgently need help to cope with climate extremes and to break free from a reliance on pesticides and fertilisers is very welcome. For too long, farmers have been left to struggle under enormous pressure to produce more food with less support.
‘Nature underpins the very foundations of our food system, yet powerful agrochemical companies have been allowed to make enormous profits by locking farmers into a dependency on costly chemical inputs. These pesticides and fertilisers don’t just kill pests, they literally strip the life from our countryside – poisoning crucial pollinators, damaging soils and polluting our waterways.
‘It’s time for a radical shift back towards farming that works with nature and actually reaps the benefits from it. Many farmers are already showing that’s possible, others are more than ready for it, but all need proper funding and support from the government to make nature-friendly farming the norm.’DOUG PARR
Chief scientist at Greenpeace UK
Collaborative models such as co-operatives will play a much larger role, enabling collective purchasing and joint investment that lower costs, spread risk and support stronger returns.
An additional £53 million for the Farming Innovation Programme brings total innovation funding this year to £123 million, including dedicated funding rounds focused on robotics and soil health and water management.
The government will also review how the economic value of agriculture is measured, ensuring farming receives the recognition it deserves. A single figure of 0.6% of Gross Value Added is misleading because it captures only primary agricultural activities.
Working with the Office for National Statistics, the government will look to develop new supplementary statistics to include the wider food supply chain, from processing and manufacturing to distribution and retail.
Seasonal Worker visas will continue until at least 2030, providing reassurance to the UK horticulture sector.
‘Farmers feed our nation and manage the land that shapes our countryside, yet their contribution has never been valued in the way it deserves. Our roadmap marks a shift away from only looking to the next harvest and towards a plan that gives farmers the long-term clarity they need to innovate, invest and grow with confidence for generations to come.
‘I have spent every day in this role rebuilding our relationship with farmers brick by brick because they’re such an important part of our economy, our society and our environment. We are looking at how farming is valued economically and socially to ensure it receives the recognition it deserves.’
EMMA REYNOLDS
Environment Secretary
To boost profits and productivity, the government will work in partnership with industry to create Sector Growth Plans starting with horticulture and poultry and bring farmers, retailers and investors together on the Farming and Food Partnership Board. It will also cut EU trade friction through a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement and give egg and fresh produce growers legal protection against unfair supply chain practices.
To build resilience, the roadmap sets out how farmers can reduce reliance on costly inputs like fertiliser through new technology and smarter nutrient management and adapt to the growing impacts of extreme weather and climate change through nature-based solutions such as improved soil health and water management.
Multiple government services will, over time, be replaced with a single digital farming account to reduce administrative burdens, alongside improved data quality and standards to enable access to private markets.
On sustainability, Environmental Land Management schemes will become more focused and better targeted, with mitigation and conversion payments phased out over time as good practice becomes standard practice with regulatory standards increasing in some areas, while long-term payments for public goods such as habitat creation will continue.
‘Farmers feed our nation, manage most of our countryside, and deserve the long-term certainty this roadmap promises. But while it sets out a direction of travel, it lacks the ambition needed to truly transform British farming and its stewardship of the land.
‘Ambition must be matched by delivery. By honouring its manifesto commitment to source 50% of public sector food from sustainable, local producers, the government could provide real stability and transform the viability of farms across the country.
‘Farmers are under greater pressure than ever. CPRE research has revealed that more than 1,700 farms on the edges of English towns and cities have disappeared since 2010 – a loss of 56,000 hectares, an area the size of Leeds.
‘Any revision to the National Planning Policy Framework must help farmers protect the resilience of the countryside, not open the door to intensive agricultural development that would cause serious harm to nature and biodiversity.’
GRAEME WILLIS
Campaign to Protect Rural England farming lead
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