Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the creation and growth of agricultural co-operatives under existing farm support schemes.

In the Farming Roadmap we committed to partner with the Mutuals and Co-operatives Sector Business Council to identify and address barriers to the development and growth of farmer cooperatives, including barriers to accessing finance.

Defra is also supporting farmer co-operation through the £30 million Farmer Collaboration Fund, which may lead farmers to entering more formal business relations with one another.

In addition, Landscape Recovery is supporting landowners and managers who want to take a large-scale, collaborative, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land.