Agri-environmental policy after Brexit

A group of academics funded by the ESRC has produced an authoritative briefing paper on agri-environmental policy post Brexit: New Dawn?

The report states,'By recognising the wider role of farming in the landscape, agricultural policy can become part of a wider sustainable Land Use Strategy, which seeks to end the decline in environmental quality and to enhance that quality through restoration.'

The policy brief concludes, 'There is a risk that future policy will be constrained by the legacy of past policies and practices. Whilst a transition arrangement between current and future policies is both sensible and inevitable, it is important to grasp this opportunity to remake our rural development and agricultural policies and avoid “lock-in” to unsustainable practices.'