Exclusive: ‘Rapid transition to regenerative farming’ needed, says prince, as data reveals 100,000 UK farms lost since 1990
The Prince of Wales has called for small family farmers in the UK and across the world to come together in a cooperative movement using sustainable farming methods, and for their plight to be at the centre of environmental action.
Small farmers, in the UK and EU, are facing their biggest upheavals in more than a generation, with the loss of farm subsidies and new post-Brexit trade deals in the UK, and sweeping reforms to the EU’s common agricultural policy to be announced this week in Brussels.Small farms have a huge role to play in our sustainable futureCharles, Prince of WalesRead more
Writing for the Guardian, Prince Charles has urged small farmers to band together to cope with the coming shocks and shift to a low-carbon economy: “There are small farms the world over which could come together in a global cooperative committed to producing food based on high environmental standards … With the skills of ethical entrepreneurs and a determination from the farmers to make it work, I would like to think it could provide a very real and hopeful future.”
Farming is undergoing a “massive transition”, and the needs of family farmers must be taken into account, the prince said.
“To me, it is essential the contribution of the small-scale family farmer is properly recognised – they must be a key part in any fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition to a sustainable future. To do this, we must ensure that Britain’s family farmers have the tools and the confidence to meet the rapid transition to regenerative farming systems that our planet demands,” he said.
Analysis of farming data for the Guardian has shown that small farmers were already facing an increasingly difficult future, before the shocks of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU has lost vast numbers of livestock farms in particular, with 3.4m gone between 2005 and 2016, the latest year for which full data was available.
At the same time, the number of livestock on farms has increased on average, a clear sign of intensification in the sector.
In the UK, a quarter of livestock farms, amounting to 45,500 farms, were lost in 12 years from 2005 to 2016. That loss was part of a longer-term trend for all farms, with more than 110,000 farms gone from the 319,000 farms in 1990.
Many farmers have warned that Brexit could hasten the loss of smaller farms, as the UK’s markets open up to lower-cost imports from outside the EU that previously faced tariffs and other barriers. The government has been phasing in new support for farmers, based on payments for providing public goods such as tree planting, wildlife protection and nurturing the soil, but it is still unclear how these will work in practice.
Ministers also announced a consultation last week on giving lump sums to farmers who want to retire, accompanied by support for people who want to enter farming, but cannot afford to. However, some farmers concerned that the scheme will encourage a further exodus of small farmers.
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Small farms have a huge role to play in our sustainable future
Small-scale agriculture needs the tools and confidence to deal with the rapid changes society has to make
Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent to the British throne
Family farmers form the backbone of our rural communities. Their hard work puts high-quality food on our tables, which is produced to some of the highest standards in the world, and their careful stewardship knits together the environmental and social fabric of our beautiful and iconic landscapes. They are a remarkable breed; adaptable, resilient and incredibly hardworking. And they are no stranger to innovation through adversity. Their very diversity brings great strengths to our environment, to our rural communities and to disease management. All this must be taken into account as agriculture starts this massive transition, especially as more than 110,000 smaller family farms have already been lost since 1990.
To me, it is essential the contribution of the small-scale family farmer is properly recognised – they must be a key part in any fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition to a sustainable future. To do this, we must ensure that Britain’s family farmers have the tools and the confidence to meet the rapid transition to regenerative farming systems that our planet demands.Advertisement
It is worth remembering that most of these farms are run by one or two people. Unlike the larger farms, they often don’t have the time or the resources to seek advice. The changes coming are huge and the way we help our farmers manage our soils, hedgerows and grazing livestock, and develop local supply chains, holds the key to biodiversity gain, carbon sequestration and water management, all of which are directly linked to our own health and wellbeing.
I believe there is strength in numbers and have often thought the best way to secure a viable future for these smaller family farms would be for them to come together in some sort of co-operative. While there seems to be some deep-seated aversion to farmer co-operatives in this country (I have tried my best over the years to encourage and establish them, but to little effect), they work well in many parts of Europe. And new times demand new thinking.
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Terra Carta
As part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, HRH The Prince of Wales, announces the ‘Terra Carta’ – a charter that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector.
HRH The Prince of Wales’s urgent appeal comes as HRH marks 50 years of campaigning for the environment.
Marking a year since HRH announced his Sustainable Markets Initiative at Davos, the Terra Carta offers the basis of a recovery plan to 2030 that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation.
The ‘Terra Carta’ offers the basis of a recovery plan that puts Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation – one that will harness the precious, irreplaceable power of Nature combined with the transformative innovation and resources of the private sector.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES
Speaking at the One Planet Summit in France on 11th January 2021 – HRH The Prince of Wales unveiled the Terra Carta – which provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future; one that will harness the power of Nature combined with the transformative power, innovation and resources of the private sector.
HRH The Prince of Wales is making an urgent appeal to private sector leaders around the world to join this endeavour and to give their support to the Terra Carta.
One of Terra Carta’s actions was initiated at the One Planet Summit in Paris, with the creation of a Natural Capital Investors Alliance targeting $10 billion by 2022.
About the Terra Carta
Deriving its name from the historic Magna Carta, which inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people over 800 years ago, the Terra Carta aims to reunite people and planet, by giving fundamental rights and value to Nature, ensuring a lasting impact and tangible legacy for this generation.
Contact
For more information, please contact info@sustainable-markets.org
If you are interested in becoming a supporter of the Terra Carta including being publicly named, please email your CEO and company name to info@sustainable-markets.org
Supporters should have a sound ESG reputation and public credentials. It is preferable that the Global CEO be named.
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The Duchy of Cornwall – Home Farm
https://duchyofcornwall.org/home-farm.html
The Duke believes passionately in the advantages of organic farming. In 1985, when it was still a relatively new concept, His Royal Highness decided to convert the Duchy Home Farm into a completely organic farming system.
Twenty-eight years later, Home Farm is not only a successful and viable working farm, but a flagship for the benefits of an organic, sustainable form of agriculture.
“Organic farming isn’t only better for the environment – thanks to the restricted use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides – but it also assures greater wildlife protection and animal welfare standards.”
In addition to working closely with organisations, such as The Soil Association, The Sustainable Food Trust, Garden Organic and The Organic Research Centre, Home Farm supports education and research by hosting workshops that promote the links between food, farming, health and the environment
As Patron of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, The Duke is keen for Home Farm to play an active role in helping to preserve the gene pool of British pigs, sheep and cattle. Over the years, these breeds have increasingly been replaced by foreign breeds and breeding programmes more suited to intensive farming methods. To help counteract this, Home Farm features animals including Tamworth pigs, Irish Moiled, Gloucester, Shetland and British White cattle, as well as Hebridean and Shropshire sheep. These rare breeds are highly prized by The Duke for the quality of their produce and natural affinity with the British farming landscape.
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Sustainability
Source: https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/sustainability
For over fifty years, The Prince of Wales has used his unique position to champion action for a sustainable future.
In the context of global challenges that include the climate crisis, deforestation, and ocean pollution, The Prince has promoted sustainability to ensure that the natural assets upon which we all depend among other things soil, water, forests, a stable climate and fish stocks endure for future generations.
His Royal Highness believes that economic and social development will best succeed when it works in harmony, rather than in conflict, with Nature.
“There is an amazing amount that can be done. It is a combined responsibility of all of us, the public sector, private sector and civil society.”
Over the decades, The Prince of Wales has launched a number of sustainability initiatives aimed at delivering practical outcomes. In late 2019, His Royal Highness launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative. As well as addressing environmental challenges, The Prince promotes a more sustainable approach to planning and designing homes and communities in ways that enhance and add to the social, natural and built environment.
His Royal Highness’s sustainability work is based on the principle that environmental challenges in our increasingly interconnected world are best met by adopting integrated and holistic approaches to sustainability.
The Prince uses his position to help raise public awareness about sustainability challenges and solutions through his speeches, articles, books and films. He is also Patron of a wide range of organizations working for sustainability, offering support and encouragement for their work.
The Prince of Wales convenes many different groups, from business leaders to Heads of State and from local community initiatives to scientific bodies, in order to find the best ways of making progress in meeting complex challenges.
In May 2017, His Royal Highness was awarded The GCC Global Leader of Change Award for his outstanding contribution to global environmental preservation and protection and for his passionate vision for a better future for humanity.
In November of 2017, The Prince delivered a speech at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta about conserving the ocean and the circular economy.
In September 2018, His Royal Highness received a special Lifetime Achievement Award from GQ Magazine for Services to Philanthropy. In an interview for the publication to celebrate the award The Prince discussed the importance of sustainable fashion, saying, “I have always believed that living on a finite planet means we have to recognize that this puts certain constraints and limits on our human ambition in order to maintain the viability of the planet.”
As well as promoting sustainability through his work, His Royal Highness has taken many steps personally to live in a more sustainable way. Around half of his office and domestic energy use comes from renewable sources such as woodchip boilers, air-source heat pumps, solar panels and “green” electricity.
Their Royal Highnesses’ Household strives to minimise its environmental impact across its activities, including travel, energy use and the indirect impact of the products and services it uses.
The Annual Review provides further information on some of this work.
On Thursday 15th April 2021, The Prince of Wales held a Roundtable by video link with Commonwealth leaders ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2021. This was the first in a series of regional Roundtables in which The Prince of Wales is engaging in partnership with Commonwealth leaders on economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerating action on climate change and scaling sustainable investment opportunities. Read more about the meeting here.
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Articles
Prince Charles will not be renewing Home Farm lease
Royal documentary puts sustainable farming in the spotlight
Prince Charles: Why we went organic at Sandringham Estate
Prince Charles Royal Patron for Sustainability
Videos
21.01.2015
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The Sustainable Food Trust
10.12.2019 The Prince of Wales becomes Patron of the Sustainable Food Trust
We are delighted to announce that HRH The Prince of Wales has accepted an invitation to become the Patron of the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT).
The announcement was made at the launch of the organisation’s Progress Report on Monday 9th December which outlines the development and successes of the SFT over the last 8 years.
Commenting on the announcement, Patrick Holden, Founder and CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) said, “The decision by The Prince of Wales to accept this invitation comes at a vital moment in history, when the pressures that unsustainable land management, farming and food production systems are putting on the planet’s ecosystems, are threatening to precipitate irreversible climate change, biodiversity collapse, the further destruction of natural capital, food insecurity and massive and unaffordable damage to public health.
As an organisation that works internationally, with high-level contacts across the world, the SFT is in a unique position to promote greater collaboration between individuals and organisations in leadership positions, encouraging them to embrace united strategies for addressing these unparalleled threats to human civilisation as we know it.
I would like to acknowledge on behalf of the board and staff of the SFT the huge debt of gratitude that we owe to The Prince of Wales for his vision and leadership in this field.”
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