UK PM announces £65 million support for farmers

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced £65 million in additional support for farmers affected by a severe drought, saying farmers should not be left to bear the costs of the climate crisis alone.

The announcement comes after Burnham faced criticism from Labour lawmakers and grassroots members over what they described as a slow response to climate-related problems, including wildfires and drought conditions affecting agriculture, The Guardian reports.

Some farmers have been forced to harvest crops early, while others are reporting lower yields and poorer-quality produce as prolonged dry and hot weather damages food production.

Most of the new funding will go toward England’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which provides payments to farmers for environmental and nature-related work. An additional £50 million will bring the total SFI budget to £290 million, with funding prioritised for areas facing the greatest drought-related pressures.

Burnham chaired a government emergency meeting, known as Cobra, this week to discuss extreme heat, wildfires and drought. The government is also working on a cross-departmental response covering agriculture, water supplies and infrastructure.

Under the new measures, farmers who receive payments for managing land for environmental purposes will be allowed to cut or graze some areas earlier than normally permitted where grass supplies are scarce, without losing their payments.

A further £15 million has been allocated to help farmers build reservoirs on their land to improve water supplies during future dry periods.

However, environmental campaigners have criticised the reservoir funding, saying it has been redirected from existing programmes and will cover only a small share of the infrastructure required.

The government also plans to improve farmers’ access to water by simplifying rules governing how much water can be taken from natural sources and speeding up the licensing process, making it easier to direct supplies to areas facing the greatest need.

By Sabina Mammadli