Farmers need more clarity and support for working in drought conditions as food supply pressures mount

The Country Land and Business organisation has urged the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to provide more clarity and support to farmers as the country continues to experience drought conditions.
Emma Ryan
By Emma Ryan
Published 31st Aug 2022, 06:00 BST

The member body, which represents owners of land, property and businesses in rural areas, fears that while water supplies to homes and businesses are being protected – the same protection will not be afforded to farmers.

It has also called upon Defra to come up with funding and planning solutions for tackling extreme weather conditions – such as this year’s hot and dry summer – for years to come.

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It follows another meeting of the National Drought Group last week where it was agreed that the Environment Agency will, amongst other things, manage water users’ abstraction licences to balance the needs of water companies, other abstractors and the natural environment and carry out irrigation patrols to ensure abstractors are complying with licence restrictions.

A walker by the River Skirfare in Littondale, dried up with the lack of rainfall this summer. The river ends where it joins the larger River Wharfe. The source is the confluence of Foxup Beck and Cosh Beck at the hamlet of Foxup. The river meanders consistently for almost 10 miles. Picture: Tony JohnsonA walker by the River Skirfare in Littondale, dried up with the lack of rainfall this summer. The river ends where it joins the larger River Wharfe. The source is the confluence of Foxup Beck and Cosh Beck at the hamlet of Foxup. The river meanders consistently for almost 10 miles. Picture: Tony Johnson
A walker by the River Skirfare in Littondale, dried up with the lack of rainfall this summer. The river ends where it joins the larger River Wharfe. The source is the confluence of Foxup Beck and Cosh Beck at the hamlet of Foxup. The river meanders consistently for almost 10 miles. Picture: Tony Johnson

Water companies, such as Yorkshire Water which has implemented a hosepipe ban, have said they will work harder to fix leaks and take other measures to ensure there are essential water supplies.

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CLA President, Mark Tufnell, said: “It is reassuring that the National Drought Group will be accelerating action to ensure long-term water security and continuing to carefully monitor water resources over the coming months to ensure that the needs of farmers, rural industries, and nature remain secure.

“On-farm reservoirs will be a crucial piece of the water resilience jigsaw, but they take time to build and require considerable capital. We urge Defra and its agencies to come up with a way of aligning funding, planning permission and abstraction decisions so that our members have the certainty and pace they need to make this investment.

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“Although the Government has commented that essential supplies are safe, we remain concerned that water for agriculture is not included as an essential supply. Secure water for food is critical to ensure the produce British consumers expect will be on supermarket shelves next year.”

Large parts of the country are now in drought status from Devon & Cornwall/Isles of Scilly; Solent and South Downs; Thames; Hertfordshire and North London; Kent and South London; East Anglia; Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire; East Midlands; and Yorkshire. The West Midlands last week moved into drought status with Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire; Wessex and the North East being in prolonged dry weather. The only area now at ‘normal water resource’ status is Cumbria and Lancashire.

It will require a return to sustained average or above average rainfall to replenish water levels and the government warned that until that happens, many areas will remain in drought.

Related topics:Yorkshire WaterGovernmentEnvironment Agency