Farming in the Uplands

Written evidence submitted by the Country Land and
Business Association (Uplands 14)

Executive Summary

CLA supports the way in which the CRC report depicts the importance of the uplands and successfully identifies the problems faced.

The uplands matter to society because through their active management ecosystem services are provided. These include; food, landscape, wood products, energy, natural resources and biodiversity as well as leisure and tourism opportunities. However, these management systems are under threat from the low or negative financial margins. The farming systems survive only because of the public supports. The challenge for the future is to realise the value of the management systems that produce ecosystem services and in doing so realise the potential of our upland areas.

The ability of upland land management to provide a reasonable living standard is critical to the future of the uplands. This goal will never be reached by dependence on selling agricultural products alone. However, with the right frameworks for public and private payment for more of the non-market ecosystem services, alongside developing markets for renewable energy and forestry products there is great potential to be tapped.

Upland communities form the bedrock from which the resilience and determination of the upland land managers is derived but they are under threat. Planning policies which should foster economic development, (thus creating jobs) and create affordable housing (so that those who work in the uplands can live in their communities) is essential. Similarly, provision of rural broadband is crucial to the sustainability of upland businesses and communities.

Response to the CRC’s recommendations outlined in their report High ground, high potential

In order to facilitate economic development and the retention of upland communities the CLA believe the following set of actions are necessary.

Leadership and a Strategic Overview

A cross government upland strategy must be developed. A suitably experienced individual is needed to chair a stakeholder group to progress and deliver such a strategy. Similarly a Defra Minister should have explicit responsibility for upland areas.

We believe the focus on localism and Big Society is particularly relevant in upland areas. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) must promote and protect the economic concerns of the rural uplands.

Economy should be included in the remit of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty but without enhancing the National Park Authorities powers. The problems with the planning system are all the more acute in NPs because of the restrictions on economic activity. Local communities should be able to hold National Parks to account where due consideration has not been given to the economics of a proposal.

Fostering Economic Development

Public Support

Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) labours under the negative concepts of agriculture. These areas could instead be referred to as Environmentally Favoured Areas (EFA). Greater recognition needs to be giving to the positive outputs of our uplands including the ecosystem services that can be provided through active management. This must include the vital contribution they make to food production and animal breeding.

The upcoming CAP reform should recognise the challenges of farming and land management in Europe’s marginal areas. Consolidation of the LFA payments into the core basic Pillar 1 supports would make a clearer, simpler, more stable and enduring contractual payment. This would enable upland farms to provide a wide range of ecosystem services including food. A switch in policy emphasis is likely to be supported by society as shown by the recent report by FERA and Newcastle University [1] . If these payments had the characteristics of current Pillar 2 supports – namely they are paid on a multi-annual (say 5 or 7 year) contractual basis – they would have the capacity to offer greater certainty, stability and more simplicity for both farmers and government.

Future payments must consider a new approach to calculating income foregone. An alternative approach based on opportunity cost could see farmers paid income based on the best alternative occupation away from hill farming.

Value-added products

There is a constant need to encourage and help upland farming strive for high-quality, regionally and locally distinct breeds and products and to develop new routes to market which shorten the food chain and seek to get more value-added back to the primary producer. The means to do this are through assistance in the CAP Pillar 2 Axis 1 for raising quality, and encouraging producer and marketing groups. Demonstration projects and dissemination of best practice are also important components.

New (Environmental) Markets

Climate and water regulation are two areas that offer the greatest prospect of encouraging private finance into upland areas and would help to reduce the dependence on public supports.

If a company decides to purchase credits from carbon reduction projects to count towards their voluntary corporate targets the projects should be accredited by the Government’s Quality Assurance Scheme. This only allows for carbon credits that are generated from projects occurring in countries that do not have mandatory emission reduction targets and effectively acts as a regulatory barrier to the UK market place. However, if companies could finance carbon reduction projects in the UK without the need to take ownership of a tradable carbon credit they would be encouraged to invest in peatland restoration projects, if they were confident that they will deliver quantifiable greenhouse gas benefits. Such an approach would need to make clear that companies will not earn tradable carbon credits from their investment.

Forestry

Several bodies have called for afforestation of upland areas and this could deliver important (if different) ecosystem services. But forestry’s potential will only be realised if suitable incentives through agri-environment schemes or through private markets for renewable heat or material substitution can be realised. Owners must be allowed and encouraged to grow high value material that the market wants.

Planning

The single biggest issue stifling upland communities relates to planning policies that are too restrictive, bureaucratic and prevent necessary development.

There are three specific areas where planning policy has failed:

1. Farm diversification and rural economic development proposals

2. Rural housing

Given the attractiveness of the uplands for second/holiday homes, there is a shortage of affordable rural housing both for young and retiring people. This should be addressed by:

· The building of retirement dwellings on farms for retiring farmers

· Meeting local housing needs to be close to the origin of that need through the organic, incremental growth of villages and settlements. This may include applying flexibility to the village envelope where this is necessary to sustain a particular rural community;

· Encouraging landowners to fund, build and manage affordable rural housing

· Fostering ‘mixed communities’

· Removing the prohibition of the use of cross-subsidy on rural exception sites to assist the leveraging in additional funding for affordable rural housing

· Fiscal incentives for affordable rural housing

· Prevention of vexatious village green applications

· Conversion of redundant traditional farm buildings to new uses including residential.

3. Renewable energy

The uplands can provide renewable energy because of the prevalence of wind, water and biomass. Finance from national schemes such as the Feed In Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive are necessary to facilitate this. It is only inappropriate planning and environmental regulation that is holding the sector back.

Improving Rural Services

Uplands areas need high speed broadband, as much, if not more than other areas.

This can be achieved by :

· Legislation to introduce a Universal Service Obligation of at least 2Mb/ps

· A framework that allows rural business to piggy-back the public sector broadband infrastructure

· OFCOM creating a legal framework , in agreement with mob ile phone service operators, to ensure universal coverage

· 3G technology to provide effective mobile telephony

· A UK wide system of community broadband grants using part of the digital switchover under-spend

· A Rural Broadband Partnership , including Government and the industry to aggregate demand and help inform the public as to the importance of superfast broadband to the economy and society.

October 2010