Farming Road Map and Profitability Review

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s farming road map, which the Farming Minister—my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan)—and I have published today. This 25-year farming road map is the first ever long-term plan for farming in this country, giving farmers the clarity and confidence that they need to make investment decisions. The plan backs farming, strengthens profitability and food security, and sets out a clear direction of travel for a thriving future for farming. The Government are also laying our detailed response to Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review. 

Farmers feed our nation. They produce over 65% of our food, manage 70% of our land, and support an agrifood sector worth £153 billion every year. I know that many hon. Members on both sides of the House will have seen at first hand farmers’ dedication to feeding our nation and protecting our natural environment, and the farming sector has a long tradition of adapting to change over generations. It has survived war, disease, trade shocks and extreme weather—

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

And Labour!

[Emma Reynolds]

And Conservative Governments.

For too long, farmers have been asked to navigate profound change without a clear sense of the Government’s plan for the future. The pressures of fast-moving technological change, geopolitical instability, volatile global markets and climate change are real. I have met farmers across England, and they are not asking for protection from change; they are asking for the tools, the stability and the genuine partnership with Government that will allow them to adapt, grow and thrive. The Government have heard that message. The farming road map sets out our plan for farming up to 2050 and reflects immediate Government action to support our farmers to feed the nation.

I offer my huge thanks to Baroness Batters for her farming profitability review, which was published in December. We have benefited hugely from her incredible experience and expertise as a farmer, but also as a former president of the National Farmers’ Union. Her analysis was extremely clear, and her recommendations have shaped our road map. 

The farming road map answers the farming industry’s calls for clarity over the long term. It brings together the most important policies and commitments under one coherent plan, because we understand that farmers have long planning timescales. For example, a farmer planting an orchard today will not see its full yield for a decade. That is why the road map is so crucial: it will allow farmers and land managers to invest in their businesses with confidence. 

The road map is organised around three outcomes that we need to deliver together with the farming sector. The first is profitable and productive farm businesses. Food production is the primary purpose of farming and a matter of national security. The road map backs our farmers to grow, invest and compete, delivering year-on-year productivity growth; Government support to invest in innovative approaches; fairer supply chains that do not leave farmers carrying disproportionate risk; better market access, so that British food can reach more customers at home and abroad; smarter regulation that reduces the burden on farmers; more collaborative models, such as co-operatives, to help lower costs, spread risk and support stronger returns; and, most of all, the stability and certainty that investors and farm businesses need to invest with confidence. To that end, I can confirm today that we will launch a dedicated task-and-finish group to unlock private finance in sustainable farming. The new Farming and Food Partnership Board has started work on the first sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry, with more sectors to follow. 

The second outcome is a sustainable farming sector. Healthy soils, clean water and thriving ecosystems are the foundations of strong food production. We will support the shift to lower-input, lower-emission farming, not by directing every decision on farms but by ensuring that the right incentives, advice and regulation are in place. Our environmental land management schemes, backed by £11.8 billion over this Parliament, are already delivering sustainable and profitable farming, now and for the future. This is the biggest budget for nature-friendly farming in our history. I can confirm that next week we will reopen the sustainable farming incentive for small farms and those without existing agreements. The total budget for this year will be £240 million, with £60 million ringfenced for those eligible in window 1. We will continue to refine our schemes in partnership with the sector. The road map gives equal importance to food security, profitable farming and a healthy natural environment, because they are all critical to protecting our national security. 

Thirdly, and finally, we need a resilient farming sector that is ready for whatever comes next. We live in a volatile world. The pressure on fertiliser and fuel prices underlines why we need farming systems that are less exposed to global shocks. At the same time, climate change is reshaping growing conditions and technology is moving fast. The road map sets out how we will strengthen our climate resilience, ensuring that farmers are able to adapt and to tackle the impacts of droughts and flooding. 

Today I can confirm that we are investing an additional £53 million in the farming innovation programme to help farmers harness new technology that can improve productivity, reduce reliance on inputs and increase long-term resilience. That brings the total investment in innovation funding to £123 million, which, along with £50 million in equipment funding, puts British farmers at the forefront of agricultural advancements. 

To further secure the future of farming, we will invest in the skills and people the sector needs by supporting training and new entrants, so that farmers’ hard-earned knowledge is passed down to the next generation. Tenant farmers manage around a third of England’s farmland, and tenancies play a key role in supporting new entrants. We want a vibrant tenanted sector, and the road map commits to making schemes, policies and tenancy agreements work for tenants. 

Upland farmers are also vital to our food production, land management and rural communities. They often operate in challenging physical and economic conditions. The road map sets out how we intend to improve access to schemes and support for upland farmers, and we have asked Dr Hilary Cottam to identify opportunities for upland communities to flourish. 

The road map was not written in Whitehall and handed down; my team in the Department and I have visited many farms across the country, and many more farmers have travelled to speak to us at regional events, and we have listened. The road map reflects our extensive engagement with farmers, growers, land managers and the wider food sector. As I mentioned at the start of my speech, farmers have asked for a Government who create the conditions for farmers to succeed, rather than directing every decision. The road map sets out clear roles for the Government, farmers, supply chain actors and the wider sector to make that vision a reality. Where new approaches are untested or deliver a wider public good, we will put Government investment behind them—in skills, data, innovation, technology and infrastructure. 

The road map has been developed in partnership with the industry, and we want to continue to work in partnership as we implement it. This Government are proud to work with British farmers as we grow the future of farming. Together, we are building a more profitable, productive, sustainable and resilient farming sector, and I am confident that there is a bright future ahead. I commend this statement to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Emma Reynolds]

I think my hon. Friend’s name is very striking, Madam Deputy Speaker.

We are consulting on longer-term plans to change fertiliser rules so that we can diversify the sorts of fertilisers that farmers can use. We are also looking to see how we can ensure that fertiliser markets function more fairly, in the way that I have suggested in previous answers.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

When can we expect a resolution to the problems that are preventing payments in respect of commoning?

[Emma Reynolds]

I did not catch that last word.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

Common land.

[Emma Reynolds]

It is in the road map, but I want to say, first, that I look forward to going on holiday in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency at some stage—sounds like we get a great service! I will let him know when I am on my way. He is right to mention this issue. It is something that we are looking at, and it is mentioned in the road map. I know that there are real problems for commoners getting access to some Government schemes, so that is something he will see in the road map. Upland farmers and others really need to ensure that they can access the schemes that we have.