Investing in nature restoration and eco-friendly farming offers potential rather than limitations for financial backers, according to Tony Juniper.
The UK's Sustainable Agriculture Revolution: A Stewardship for the Planet and Farmers
The United Kingdom is leading the way in promoting sustainable farming practices, with a focus on environmental stewardship and long-term benefits for both the planet and the farming industry.
At the heart of this transformation is the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), launched post-Brexit to replace direct payment subsidies. ELMS incentivises farmers based on public money for public goods, rewarding measurable environmental outcomes such as biodiversity improvement, carbon reduction, landscape restoration, soil health, and habitat connectivity. Over 80% of farming subsidies in 2025 will focus on sustainable practices under this scheme.
Key ELMS-supported practices include establishing wildflower strips and buffer zones to support pollinators and wildlife, tree planting, agroforestry, and wetland restoration for carbon sequestration, reduced tillage and organic amendments to improve soil quality and water retention, crop rotation and diversification to avoid monocultures, and precision agriculture to minimize inputs and emission footprints.
In Wales, a distinct but aligned initiative, the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) launching in 2026, adopts a ‘whole farm’ approach. It emphasizes carbon balance assessment, soil protection from harmful cropping, and continued support for organic farming and conversion to organic agriculture.
Organic farming, strongly supported by UK policy and consumer trends, also contributes significantly to this transition by avoiding synthetic chemicals, enhancing biodiversity, and improving soil health. Government policy and technological innovation help scale organic methods sustainably while addressing food security and climate challenges.
These policies contribute to reversing nature loss and promoting long-term benefits by enhancing ecosystem services such as pollination and water quality, increasing carbon sequestration and reducing emissions to meet net-zero goals by 2050, improving soil resilience and fertility for sustained farm productivity, and supporting farmer livelihoods through outcome-based subsidies aligned with environmental stewardship.
The Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF), and Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes are key initiatives in the UK's effort to promote sustainable farming practices. FETF-funded closed transfer sprayer systems reduce pesticide drift by 85% compared to conventional methods, and precision agriculture allows farmers to reduce their cost base by avoiding expensive pesticides and fertilizers, and produce more food by restoring the farmed landscape.
ELM's Integrated Pest Management premiums have led to a 22% reduction in synthetic pesticide use on enrolled farms since 2023. However, concerns have been raised as Defra has halted new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive due to exhausting its budget.
Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, has been a vocal advocate for these changes. He lamented that the world is not yet on track to reach the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity targets, such as reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, but noted interest in the UK's net gain biodiversity rules from a diverse range of actors looking to develop similar policies. He also highlighted socio-economic inequality as a main obstacle to tackling environmental challenges in his latest book, "Just Earth".
Protests in Brussels in 2024 demonstrated the challenges faced by farmers in this transition, with protesters believing that progressive laws threatened their existence. However, many farmers in conversation with Juniper see food security and farming as the first casualties of changes due to the decline of pollinating insects, loss of soils, water insecurity, and the impacts of drought.
Juniper urges pension funds that own agricultural assets to consider their nature and climate strategies carefully, as the UK's shift toward environmentally targeted subsidies and sustainable farming schemes helps align agriculture with national climate and biodiversity targets, ensuring that farming businesses remain viable while playing a key role in nature recovery and long-term ecosystem health.
The UK has implemented a comprehensive suite of agricultural programs designed to accelerate the transition to sustainable farming practices, with South Yorkshire Pension Authority, West Yorkshire Pension Fund, and Oxfordshire Pension Fund exploring opportunities in nature restoration and sustainable agriculture. Vertical farming, robotics, precision deployment of chemicals via AI and GPS, and other technologies present huge opportunities for innovation and economic gain.
In summary, the UK’s shift toward environmentally targeted subsidies and sustainable farming schemes helps align agriculture with national climate and biodiversity targets, ensuring that farming businesses remain viable while playing a key role in nature recovery and long-term ecosystem health.
- The UK's Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) prioritizes investing in public goods, such as carbon reduction and biodiversity improvement, within the realm of environmental-science and technology.
- The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in Wales, launching in 2026, emphasizes the importance of lifestyle choices, like carbon balance assessment and organic farming, as part of education-and-self-development initiatives.
- Tony Juniper, an influential figure in the UK's sustainable agriculture movement, advocates for businesses, including those in finance, like pension funds, to consider their nature and climate strategies when it comes to agricultural assets, as such decisions can influence the future of sports and the environment.
- Due to the increasing adoption of sustainable farming practices, such as precision agriculture and closed transfer sprayer systems, the UK's agriculture industry is evolving, leveraging technology to reduce costs, increase productivity, and meet climate change objectives.
- The protests in Brussels highlighted the challenges farmers face when it comes to adapting to climate-change and implementing sustainable practices, underscoring the need for continued dialogue and support for both environmental stewardship and the economic stability of the farming industry.
