Westminster Life: Building resilience for British farming

The fire at Holme Fen has been devastating for an incredibly important part of our local environment. But amid the damage, we have also seen an extraordinary community response, writes Sam Carling, MP for North West Cambridgeshire. 

Local farmers have been a major part of that. They have stepped forward to provide water and support firefighters working in exceptionally difficult conditions, at the same time as many are facing serious pressures on their own farms. 

This has already been an incredibly challenging summer for farming. Prolonged hot and dry weather has put pressure on water supplies and affected crops across the country. More than two-thirds of England is now in drought, and farmers are on the frontline of increasingly extreme weather. 

That makes the Labour Government's announcement of further support particularly welcome. 

An additional £65 million is being made available to help farmers respond to the drought and become more resilient in future. The Government is increasing the Sustainable Farming Incentive budget by £50 million, while another £15 million will support investment in on-farm reservoirs. 

Alongside that funding, changes are being made to give farmers affected by drought greater flexibility within environmental schemes and make accessing water easier during these exceptional conditions. The Government is also looking at the barriers which can make it difficult to build the infrastructure farms need to store water. 

These are practical measures, but I think Prime Minister Andy Burnham's wider message to farmers matters too. 

We know that we have work to do to rebuild trust with the farming community. That cannot be achieved simply by saying the right things. It requires Government to listen properly to farmers, understand the realities they face and demonstrate through its decisions that their contribution is valued. 

I'm pleased that the Prime Minister has acknowledged that directly. 

Farming remains a hugely important part of life across Peterborough and Huntingdonshire. It supports our rural economy and is fundamental to our food security, while farmers play an important role as custodians of the countryside around us. 

Over the past week at Holme Fen, we have seen another side of that contribution. When our community needed help, local farmers were there. 

I have written to the Government about the pressures created by the fire and the contribution farmers have made to the response, and I want to continue listening to local farmers about the challenges they face. 

There will be more work to do. But the additional support announced by the Labour Government, alongside a clear commitment from the new Prime Minister to rebuild that relationship, is a positive step. 

Our farmers should know that their contribution is valued, their concerns deserve to be heard, and Government should work alongside them as we prepare for the challenges ahead.