Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Deferred
Incorporate new soil health targets into the EIP and expand ELM scheme participation by 2040.
Conclusion
The 2028 Environmental Improvement Plan should incorporate and develop these new soil health targets and ensure that soil improvement features across all related sectors, particularly construction, planning and agriculture. Goals for biodiversity, waste, food security, land use and net zero should ensure that soil health plays a role in their delivery. The EIP should also aim for nearly all farmers and growers (90% or more) to be part of an ELM scheme by 2040, and work with the agricultural sector to develop clear, reasonable and measurable definitions of “sustainable soil management” within ELMs, which are adaptable to different contexts and that all participants should be strongly incentivised to adopt. (Paragraph 40) Soil health 49 Incentivising sustainable soil management
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response outlined measures to improve accessibility for smaller and tenant farmers in ELM schemes, such as SFI Management Payments and adapted tenancy rules, but did not address the recommendation regarding the 2028 EIP, new soil health targets across sectors, or definitions of sustainable soil management.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Government agrees that soil health contributes to goals in vital areas such as biodiversity, waste management, food security, land use, and net zero. The current EIP sets out these interlinkages, along with the actions we must take to restore nature, tackle environmental pollution, and address climate change. The current EIP also includes the commitment to bring at least 40% of England’s agricultural soil into sustainable management through our new farming schemes by 2028, increasing this to 60% by 2030. We are developing a delivery pathway for this commitment. We will work towards a review and revision of the EIP in 2028, informed using an evidence- based approach as well as appropriate stakeholder engagement. This will consider how the current EIP23 may need to be revised to best drive action against the 10 goals included within the plan. By 2028, we plan to cover 70% of farmed land and 70% of farms in our Environmental Land Management schemes. Farmers can choose the combination of actions that works for their farm setting to achieve a range of environmental outcomes. We want to continue to be flexible, fair, and pragmatic, and adapt our schemes to enable as many farmers and land managers as possible to deliver, alongside food production, significant and important outcomes for the climate and environment. Incentivising sustainable soil management Recommendation 7: By 2025, the Government should commission and publish a review considering what financial barriers, including upfront investment costs, are preventing more sustainable farming systems. Based on these findings, the Government should develop, alongside the industry, measures to combat the problem. These could include enabling access to more upfront grants, more Government-funded advisory services, low-cost finance or encouraging the sharing and pooling of resources.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗