- New report reveals that UK Government must significantly increase nature-friendly farming budget to meet climate and nature targets  - RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts call for long-term investment to future proof British farming and support nature recovery  - Benefits of nature-friendly farming include less pollution, less chemicals, natural pest control and more wildlife, including pollinating insects

New economic analysis, published today, demonstrates that the current agricultural budget is significantly less than what is required for the UK farm and land management sector to help tackle the nature and climate crisis.

The independent analysis1 – A Scale of Need – commissioned by RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, finds that increasing investment in nature-friendly farming to £5.9 billion per annum across the UK is essential to meet legally binding nature and climate targets, and improve the resilience of the UK farming industry. The current annual agricultural budget is £3.5 billion – which remains unchanged since 2013 – and approximately 20-25% is currently spent on agri-environment schemes that benefit nature2.