Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the environmental effect of farming (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.

We set out in Chapter 1 of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan how we will reduce the impact of farming on the natural environment. We will design and deliver a new environmental land management system that puts the environment first, which will incentivise and reward land managers to restore and improve our natural capital and rural heritage. We will enforce regulations for new farming rules for water, requiring every farmer to identify and manage risks to water on their land and start taking precautions to reduce ammonia emissions. We will work with farmers to use fertilisers efficiently, in order to cut the air and water pollution that harms the environment, and we will protect crops while reducing the environmental impact of pesticides.

As the 25 Year Environment Plan makes clear, it is vital that we leave a lighter footprint on the global environment, so we will work with business to develop ideas for enhancing sustainability.

In terms of addressing the environmental impact of farming abroad, through International Climate Finance (ICF), Defra has committed £210million to support forestry projects and forest dependent communities to develop low carbon and sustainable agriculture practices.

In the Amazon and Atlantic Forests of Brazil, Defra’s ICF supports small and medium sized farms to implement low-carbon agriculture while protecting forests and biodiversity. Defra also supports the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) which promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions through smarter land-use policies and practices such as sustainable agriculture.

Through our support to the eco.business Fund in Latin America we promote business and consumption practices that contribute not only to biodiversity conservation but also to the sustainable use of natural resources, to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts.