NFFN launches new report 'Rethink Food: The Need for Change'

The Need for Change – published by the Nature Friendly Farming Network – is a new report examining why food system change is needed to support the transition to nature-friendly farming.

As part of the NFFN’s Rethink Food campaign, the report sets out why farm payments for improvements to soil health, biodiversity and climate mitigation ensure viable UK food production and bolster necessary adaptation to a warming climate.

At a time of global food insecurity resulting from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the report argues that fragilities in the food system have long been present. Current research predicts that the land’s overall productive capacity will reduce due to climate change, increasing supply and demand pressure, and making on-farm adaptation through nature-friendly systems a priority.

It highlights the NFFN’s manifesto for how it endorses food system change across seven areas, including prioritising the right outputs in the right areas, harnessing opportunities for producing a wider diversity of foods and improving the link-up between strategies for food, agriculture, trade and land use.

It recommends that payment schemes support farmers in creating greater ecological and agricultural diversity, including wider crop choices and livestock breeds, to help farms manage natural or economic shocks with less reliance on inputs. With the right incentives in place, farming can be the backbone of a resilient food-secure future that effectively safeguards nature, improves soil health and helps achieve net zero.