AN organisation has said the government must back agriculture with a £4billion a year budget to win the confidence of farmers. 

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) president Victoria Vyvyan said farmers need the increased budget to help deliver meaningful improvements to the environment. 

Victoria explained the situation at the 2023 CLA rural business conference in London on Thursday (November 30). 

New Defra secretary Steve Barclay and shadow secretary Steve Reed both attended the event. 

The environment secretary said: "My pledge to you is that this government will always back British farmers who produce some of the highest quality food in the world, contribute billions to our economy, and to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude for taking care of our countryside."

The CLA president said all farmers, including the next generation, need to have confidence that the UK Government will back their ambitions for the environment, nature and food production over the long-term, in the face of rising costs and inflationary pressures.

At the moment, the gvernment is committed to spending an average of £2.4 billion per year. During the environment secretary's speech at the conference, he said that almost £45million in competitions and grants are set to open in the coming weeks as part of the government's £168million investment to support farmers to foster innovation, boost productivity and improve animal welfare.

Victoria also called on the Welsh government to increase its budget to £1billion. 

“There’s concern and confusion but there’s also excitement in the farming sector," she said.

"Things are changing and for the next generation that means opportunity.

“We need an undertaking that Defra Ministers will go in to bat for an agriculture budget north of £4 billion a year in England for the next parliament.

“With this guarantee, businesses young and old can go to the bank with proof of affordability to finance growth, improve margins and confirm a future.”

The CLA has been working with Defra to improve its funding schemes and Victoria encouraged farmers to apply for support through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the Funding in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme.

She also called for more to be done on rural skills provision. 

“If we are going to grow the rural economy of the future, we need to engage with secondary education and help businesses to bring on the next generation," Victoria added. 

The environment secretary also launhed the third round of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) during the conference. He also talked about the extension of the Farming Innovation Programme grants; round 2 of the NEIRF and the new government farming schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship, Landscape Recovery and the SFI.