Leading arable farmer welcomes £50m government flood resilience injection
A leading arable farmer has welcomed a £50m government injection to bolster resilience to flooding and reduce its impacts on farms and rural communities.
Chair of the British Carrot Growers' Association Roger Hobson said the extra funding being distributed to internal drainage boards (IDBs), the public bodies responsible for managing water levels for agricultural and environmental needs in a particular area, had the potential to see huge amounts of crops saved and boost the farming industry as a whole.
The announcement follows particularly heavy rainfall this year, leadng to drops of more than seven per cent in some fruit and vegetable yields and prices of vegetables such as carrots rising by about 40 per cent.
Mr Hobson, who has a 1,000-acre farm at Crockey Hill, near York, said he had lost about 12 per cent, or 3,000 tonnes, of this year’s carrots, despite having spent significant sums on improving drainage on his land between the Derwent and Ouse rivers.
He said he was looking at the pumps and watercourses with the Ouse and Derwent IDB this week to see how they could be managed better.
Mr Hobson said: “Certainly on my farm if they can manage them better the farm can be more resilient to flooding and weather events.
"This time last year it was a complete nightmare and with a very rare November period of no rain for three weeks only in the last few days has most of our drains dropped to a level where the water’s not backed over the top of them and they are able to function properly.
He said after one of the pumps failed last year and there were no spare parts in the UK to fix it there was a several-week delay before it could be brought back to capacity, meaning a large number of carrots lost.
Mr Hobson said: "In my experience it’s really needed for the performace of our drainage systems to get this great national asset that we’re arguing about managed to its best. It only works if the drainage works.
He said he had invested significant amounts on improving drainage on his farms, but it would be rendered pointless unless the watercourses they drained into was maintained.
Mr Hobson added: ”If the watercourses are full of reeds and twigs and aren’t cleared on a regular basis I’ve wasted every penny I’ve spent.”
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said the investment would put IDBs on a firm footing to deliver their vital role in flood and water management for years to come.
IDBs that submit successful bids will be able to spend a share of the funding on projects improve, repair or replace drainage assets over the next two years, including flood barriers, embankments and maintenance of watercourses.
The government said it was also replacing an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences, which slowed the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process and neglected innovative approaches to flood management such as nature-based approaches and sustainable drainage.
A consultation will be launched in the new year which to include a review of the existing formula.