Yesterday, I raised the first big issue in the forthcoming CAP consultation: transfers of subsidies from direct payments to Rural Development Programmes (RDPs). Today, I offer some thoughts on how to make the best use of the money that is transferred.
Big issue number 2: Design of the Rural Development Programme
All four countries in the UK will need to design a new Rural Development Programme - the bit of the CAP budget which supports agri-environment and woodland grant schemes. Get it right and more farmers will become conservation heroes.
Although the State of Nature highlighted the parlous state of farmland wildlife, it made clear that targeted conservation, primarily through agri-environment schemes, has provided a lifeline for species such as cirl bunting, stone curlew, turtle dove, twite and corncrake. Evidence of the benefits of these schemes is growing all the time - the most recent edition of British Wildlife highlighted (in an article by Butterfly Conservation staff) the importance of schemes such as the English Higher Level Scheme to the conservation of the marsh fritillary butterfly.
Those involved in the first agri-environment scheme (the Norfolk Broads Grazing Marsh Scheme of 1985) should be proud of their legacy.
The benefits of well-funded, well-designed, well-targeted schemes equally applies to the English Woodland Grant scheme. As I have written previously, this scheme improves the management of woods for wildlife and helps generate income from wood products. These spin off economic benefits are familiar to agri-environment schemes too, as studies here, here and here demonstrate.
But, but, but...we also have evidence of the failure of schemes. The English Entry Level Scheme introduced six years ago has not had the impact that we, and the Government wanted. A long list of management options allowed farmers to choose measures that did little for wildlife. This is frustrating as the ingredients to support recovery of farmland wildlife were there - as demonstrated by the 200% increase in farmland birds at the RSPB's Hope Farm.
So now, Defra civil servants are working hard to design the next generation of agri-environment. We've been consulted on the design of this new scheme and we're excited by its potential. Yet, the scheme's effectiveness will depend on the size of the budget (my big Issue number 1) and the quality of the advice that farmers receive in applying the scheme to their farm. Our own experience (gleaned from advising thousands of farmers) underlines why advice should not be seen as an overhead (vulnerable to cuts in the name of efficiency) but essential to the impact of any scheme. This will be an issue to watch in the consultation.
My next CAP post will be on the more contentious issue of 'greening'.
For now, my question of the day, what's your favourite example of a successful agri-environment scheme?
It would be great to hear your views.
The shortcomings of both ELS and HLS can be more than made up for by Conservation Grade. Conservation Grade offers a market-led and evidence-based system that delivers more bird food and pollen and nectar than ELS and provides growers with the support they need to improve their management of farmland wildlife. What we need is far greater consumer recognition of the fantastic job being done by Conservation Grade and more far-sighted food brands prepared to be ‘Fair to Nature’ by adopting Conservation Grade to underpin their supply chains.
In my opinion the biggest problem why wildlife is not improving much is all down to rubbish schemes that allow farmers to claim for doing things that have dubious benefits for wildlife and it is human nature that if you get income for doing simple things then almost everyone in all walks of life takes that option.
What is needed is to give the money for things that will really be of benefit and not have hundreds of choices.In my opinion those that are having a big influence are the exceptional farmers who are not taking the easy route to claim.
Its a credit to HLS that I can think of several contenders for 'best scheme' but I'm going to choose Knepp Castle in Kent because it is so original: retiring a large dairy herd and literally re-wilding a large chunk of lowland England by leaving nature to take its course - which means a surprisingly rapid invasion of naturally grown trees, an approach inspired by the radical thinking behind Holland's huge Oostvardesplassen reserve which has already given us Great White Egret and Spoonbill as breeding birds and may soon add (natural) east cost White tailed Eagle . Its perhaps not as extreme as Sooty will think - farming is struggling badly on the poor soils of the Weald and pulling back looks as sensible economically as for biodiversity. I wonder whether Knepp's initiative might not turn into an even bigger climate change solution - could a dramatic increase in trees in kent and Sussex (from 17 to 70%) actually catch the clouds and water what could otherwise become a dangerously parched landscape ?