In its latest Spending Review, Government has set aside £2.7 billion for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2028-29.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed that Government will invest more than £2.7 billion per year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29.
Farmers will reportedly benefit from an average of £2.3 billion through the Farming and Countryside Programme and up to £400 million from additional nature schemes. Government said this would boost productivity and “protect the natural ecosystems underpinning food production”, thereby “supporting food security”.
Defra stated it would invest over £300 million between 2026-27 and 2028-29 into programmes to improve services. This will include addressing IT challenges, transforming the Environment Agency’s digital systems and investing in AI-enabled improvements to improve the management of disease risks and streamline the delivery of grants.
NFU expresses concerns
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) highlighted that the agriculture budget had “already been eroded” over the past decade by inflation, which had “significantly reduced” its spending power.
Responding to the Review, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “While the Defra Secretary of State has listened and managed to maintain the overall funding for farming and nature recovery, from what we can see so far, the £100 million cut to farming means farmers and growers will need to do more with less.
“The devil will be in the detail. And it’s essential that the Environmental Land Management schemes will be accessible for all farmers to get involved.
“This Government has repeatedly said it wants to deliver growth, and the Chancellor said today that ‘economic security relies on our ability to make and sell more in Britain’, something the food and drink sector is primed to do. It is already the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, worth some £148 billion to the national economy and supports more than four million jobs.
“To help increase this, farmers must be included in the Government’s industrial strategy and given access to the new investment announced today to boost supply chain resilience, job creation, R&D and local economic growth.”
“We still need more details and the NFU will continue to work with Defra as it makes important decisions about how this money will be spent.”
Bradshaw continued: “The Chancellor also said that this Government ‘cares about where things are made and who makes them’. But British farmers and growers haven’t felt this applies to them, and their confidence has been battered by constantly moving policy goalposts, global volatility and unpredictable climate events. In this age of insecurity, will the Government back up its manifesto statement that food security is national security, and give farmers and growers the certainty and confidence to invest in their future?
“It’s also incredibly disappointing that the Chancellor didn’t take this opportunity to do the right thing on the family farm tax, especially when farmers and growers are the working people of Britain, the same people this Government claims it wants to see thrive.
“We still need more details and the NFU will continue to work with Defra as it makes important decisions about how this money will be spent.”
