But according to our new report developed with input from published by NatWest Group and with input from the National Farmers’ Union, ‘Agriculture: Partnering with farmers for a more secure and sustainable agricultural sector’, the transition is both possible and workable.

Currently, the agricultural sector is responsible for 10% of greenhouse emissions, according to the UK Climate Change Committee 2022 Progress Report. Figures shared by the World Bank suggest demand for food might rise by 70% by 2050. In the short term, farmers must contend with high inflation on fuel, fertilisers and animal feed, but longer term, the industry is looking to improve its emissions.

The sector is at a turning point, argues the report, which finds that 82% of farmers in the UK want to embrace the long-term challenge and invest in their sustainable transition. Sustainability and productivity are increasingly connected, and a sustainable business is often a successful one. 

The report identifies some crucial steps that the industry can take towards a net zero future. Among them are:

• Use of the Global Farm Metric (GFM): this framework enables farmers to understand their social, economic and environmental sustainability in a way that is robust, holistic and independent of farming models. A common set of sustainability data also lets farmers share farm-level outcomes across the food and farming sector.
• A collaborative plan for the future, developed by government and industry: through partnerships and joined-up thinking, both the agricultural sector and government can ensure that productivity and sustainability are co-dependent. Included in this is policy that rewards farmers for transition.

To support these ambitions and actions, NatWest Group has announced a £100bn target for climate and sustainable funding and financing, and has several initiatives to help the transition to enable sustainable agriculture. These include work with the Sustainable Markets Initiative and the Taskforce for Scaling Regenerative Farming.