Regather is pleased to see the publication of the UK Government’s Organic Action Plan for England (OAPE). The plan has been developed by Defra with the English Organic Forum following engagement across the organic industry. It sets out the intention to increase the market for homegrown organic food by 4.6% over the next 10 years, bringing the total to 10% of sales across the organic food sector.
Organic food sales are worth £3.9 billion a year and the market is growing. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said:
“People are buying more organic food, and we want English farmers to be in a strong position to respond to that demand.”
The plan concentrates on three areas: more support for existing and new organic producers and processors; matching homegrown supply with increasing consumer demand; and further stimulating that demand through promotional campaigns and more procurement by the public sector.
Regather has advocated on all three points both locally, through the ShefFood partnership and nationally through organisations such as the UK Fruit & Vegetable Coalition, of which we are a founding member. We are especially pleased to see that public sector institutions, such as hospitals and schools, will be buying more organic produce. Public sector procurement is a reliable route to market, allowing food growers and producers to secure their current operations and expand them to meet rising demand in future years.
Producing food organically was once the default method. Nature-friendly practices were abandoned during The Green Revolution beginning in the 1950s. New technologies and land management methods were deployed at scale to feed Britain in the post-war years. The legacy of which is agricultural land that has been fertilised and ploughed to such an extent that soils have been left depleted. The soil biome has been less well studied than most ecosystems and it is only in recent years that it has been broadly understood what damage has been wrought by using intensive farming methods.
The mineral and vitamin content of fruits and vegetables has declined significantly over the last seven decades (1). Since the 1970s, populations of pollinating insects – such as bees, hoverflies and moths – have decreased by an average of 18%, and flowering plants have declined by a staggering 54% within their original population ranges (2). Consequently Britain is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth (3). Due in large part to agricultural policies that prioritised productivity over preserving space for nature. Regather welcomes the fact that the OAPE recognises the benefits of organic farming for promoting soil health, biodiversity, water quality and animal welfare.
Our farm in the Moss Valley is a living, breathing example of what growing organically can achieve. We took an intensively managed field with not a single earthworm present in the soil and transformed it into a haven for wildlife within the space of a few years. The soil contains more life, more carbon and it grows great tasting and nutritious vegetables.
Regather Farm grower Meg Mundy said
“Organic growing is an investment in future crops. Choosing to not use pesticides might mean that we lose a portion of our crops to insects but we protect those insects as vital biodiversity in future years… …Government support and advocacy for organic farming is essential to protecting the soil for the future”
From our own experience we know how challenging it is to access land in the first place. It took us ten years to find a way onto the land and we hope that the OAPE will address this challenge. Newcomers to the sector need to be encouraged if the Government is serious about increasing organic homegrown production. Fresh perspectives and renewed energy are much needed in the agricultural industry, where 65% of farmers are over the age of 55 (4).
In support of the plan Helen Browning, Soil Association Chief Executive, said:
“Organic farming is a key solution to tackling the climate and nature crises without taking land out of food production. It’s great to see government backing organic with an action plan that will help us build farming systems that are less dependent on harmful chemicals and more resilient to climate change, boosting nature and safeguarding food security in the process.”
The UK produces 60% of the food it consumes, falling to 55% of vegetables and just 17% of fruits (5). Producing more organic food in the UK, particularly fruit and veg, will reduce reliance on imports and improve resilience to shocks induced by climate change and tumultuous geopolitical events. All the while supporting soil rehabilitation and increasing biodiversity on farms.
Organic farming eliminates the need for artificial fertilisers, instead using sustainable inputs such as seaweed feeds and green manures. The ammonia in nitrogen fertilisers is produced from oil or gas. Fertilisers are shipped and transported using fossil fuels. Decreasing the amount of artificial fertilisers used throughout the agricultural sector will insulate food prices from the fluctuations of oil and gas on international markets.
For all these reasons, Regather is in full support of the OAPE’s ambitions. It provides a tangible framework that translates the Government’s Farming Roadmap to 2050 into action, giving farmers greater confidence to invest in profitable and resilient businesses.
1 – https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09637486.2021.1981831
2 & 3 – https://stateofnature.org.uk/
5 – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-food-security-index-2024/uk-food-security-index-2024
