Environmental Improvement Plan leaves question mark over food production

Among the new headlines announced with the plan’s publication is £500 million for Landscape Recovery Projects to be invested over a 20-year period and £85 million to improve and restore peatlands.

The new interim targets published today include:

• 250,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats to be restored or created outside of protected sites.
• Double the number of farms providing 'sufficient year-round resources for farm wildlife', compared with 2025.
• Reduce the rate of establishment of invasive non-native species by at least 50% by December 2030, compared to 2000 levels.

Clear targets for British food production

Responding to the launch of the EIP NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The clear direction from Defra is that they need farmers to deliver for the environment and farmers stand ready to do just that. What farmers need from Defra in return is similar clarity on the importance of domestic food production and a policy framework that supports that.  
 
“The Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds said, ‘Britain’s rolling hills and stunning coastline are treasures’ that must be protected. It shouldn’t be forgotten that these landscapes exist because generations of farmers have shaped and cared for them while producing food for the nation. We need polices that enable farm businesses to produce food, strengthen food security, and achieve the government’s own ambition of improving farm profitability alongside these environmental goals. 
 
“Defra’s plans for Landscape Recovery projects under the EIP involve combining government funding with private investment. However, experience shows that attracting private investment has been challenging, raising concerns about how farmers can confidently engage their businesses in the projects.
 
“That’s why we’re calling for certainty over the Sustainable Farming Incentive, alongside delivery of the EIP, and, as clearly set out in the NFU Blueprints, a multifunctional Land Use Framework that gives food production equal priority to environmental delivery. 

"We also need clear targets for British food production, because a resilient food system is not just an ambition, it’s a necessity. This will go a long way in giving farmers the clarity that they need from Defra and confidence to the public who tell us time and time again that they want to buy British.”

The government concluded a rapid review of the previous EIP from 2023, forming part of a wider statutory EIP review which considered the implementation of the EIP23, progress towards meeting targets set out in the Environment Act, whether the natural environment has improved and if different steps should be taken to meet these aims. 

It has said it will work with stakeholders, including farmers, to deliver the revised plan.

Impact on farmers and growers

Goal 1: Restored nature

To deliver Goal 1 to create a network of bigger, better, and more resilient habitats to help nature thrive, the government has committed to:

• Conserve and manage 30% of the UK’s land by 2030 (30by30).
• Achieve favourable condition for 50% of SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest), create and restore 250,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat, increase tree canopy and woodland cover by 0.33%/43,000 hectares, double the number of farms providing sufficient year-round resources for farm wildlife.
• Support farmers and land managers to create or restore 48,000km of hedgerows by 2037 and 72,500km of hedgerows by 2050.

Agri-environment schemes will have a major role in securing these outcomes. Farmers will therefore be critical to the delivery of the nature targets. Private finance is also expected to play a role, alongside a range of policy mechanisms.

Goal 2: Air

To deliver Goal 2 to reduce emissions and population exposure to air pollutants, the government has committed to:

• Deliver air quality targets for PM2.5 concentration and exposure by potentially requiring farmers to use low emission spreading equipment and covering slurry stores, among other mitigation measures such as Environmental Permitting Regulations for the cattle sectors.

Goal 3: Water

To deliver Goal 3 to ensure healthy water catchments, sustainable water supply, and clean rivers, the government has committed to:

• Reduce total nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment pollution from agriculture to the water environment by at least 12% by December 2030, compared to 2018 levels. Appropriate land management actions will be encouraged through ELMs. Defra is likely to issue new and updated regulations for farmers on water quality in 2026 which will work towards this goal. New requirements could be increased slurry store capacity, and different closed periods for spreading nutrients.
• Modernise the abstraction licensing system, including moving it into the Environmental Permitting Regulations. 
• Support the agricultural sector in ensuring collaborative sustainable water use, through enabling an increase in the number of Water Abstractor Groups from 7 to 14 by 2030.
• Review the regulatory framework for sewage sludge spreading to agricultural land to ensure it effectively manages the risks to the environment and health. As recommended by the Independent Water Commission, a reform of sewage sludge regulations will be considered by Defra within its wider work on water reform.

Goal 4: Chemicals and pesticides

To deliver Goal 4 to minimise environmental risks from chemicals and pesticides, the government has committed to:

• Reform UK registration, evaluation, authorisation, and restriction of chemicals to enable protections that address chemical pollution to be applied more quickly, efficiently and in a way that is more aligned with our closest trading partners, especially the EU, by December 2028.
• Take action on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) aka ‘forever chemicals’ through a new PFAS plan which will be published in 2026. The plan will set out a range of interventions, measures and initiatives with specific actions and delivery milestones to raise understanding and awareness of PFAS in the environment, identify releases of harmful PFAS and protect people and the environment from harm relating to exposure.
• Deliver the domestic pesticides reduction target, as set out in the 2025 UK Pesticides NAP (National Action Plan), to reduce each of the 20 metrics of the PLI (Pesticides Load Indicator) by at least 10% by 2030 in the arable sector compared to 2018.
• End the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) that are known to carry substantial risks to pollinator populations.

Goal 5: Waste

To deliver Goal 5 to minimise waste by designing it out of the system and reusing and recycling materials wherever possible, the government has committed to:

• Reduce illegal waste sites from 2023 to 2024 levels by 2029-2030 by reforming certain permit exemptions and introducing record keeping. The digital waste tracking service and reform of the carriers, brokers and dealers regulation will make it easier for regulators to detect and also act upon non-compliant waste operators and waste crime.
• Reduce fly-tipping incidents from local authority reported 2023 to 2024 levels by 2029-2030. In early 2026, guidance to support local councils to seize and crush more vehicles used for fly-tipping, including using new technologies will be published.
• Publish the circular economy growth plan in early 2026. Progress towards circularity through the plan will be monitored and evaluated to demonstrate expectations around government initiatives to effect change and achieve the government’s wider goals and targets. Waste crime is an identified indicator monitoring environmental change.

Goal 6: Resources

To deliver Goal 6 to ensure that natural resources are produced, managed, and consumed sustainably, the government has committed to:

• Bring at least 40% of England’s agricultural soil into sustainable management by 2028, increasing to 60% by 2030 by empowering farmers to establish baselines and encouraging farmers to sustainably manage soils through agri-environment schemes.
• Improve the quality, consistency and availability of soil data by publishing an initial statistic of soil health for England during 2026 and aiming to establish a soil health baseline by 2029.
• Create and implement a new farming roadmap in 2026, which will outline a vision for farming to 2050 and set the direction on how to get there.
• Create and implement a new food strategy by building supply chains that are more resilient, sustainable and promote healthier eating.

Goal 7: Climate change

To deliver Goal 7 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to accelerate to net zero and work to prepare the natural environment for the effects of climate change, the government has committed to:

• Reduce and report on carbon emissions from farming and agricultural practices in line with the government’s Carbon Budgets 4, 5 and 6 (2023 to 2037) by supporting farmers with advice, regulations, and incentives to implement sustainable land-management practices outlined in the new Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan.
• Restore approximately 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050 through an £85m investment in peatland restoration and funding water infrastructure for more sustainable farming on peatland. The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant scheme will continue until March 2027, before peatland support is integrated into ELMs.
• Increase the number of trees on farms, with a focus on silvoarable (trees with crops) and silvopastoral (trees with livestock) agroforestry systems by incentivising integration of tree planting and food production through agri-environment schemes.
• Make terrestrial protected site designation and management more dynamic and adaptive to the changing climate by completing an assessment of all SSSIs by 2032 and implementing climate change adaptive delivery plans for at least 10% of high risk SSSIs by 2030.

Goal 8: Reducing environmental hazards

To deliver Goal 8 to strengthen resilience and adaptation, and reduce the risk of harm to people, the environment and the economy from natural hazards, the government has committed to:

• Make sure that 92% of Environment Agency maintained flood and coastal risk management assets are at or above target condition by March 2026 by ensuring investment is prioritised for high-consequence defences, including those damaged in storms or ongoing flood events.
• Deliver an improved evidence base to monitor wildfires, through fire and rescue service incident data through work with stakeholders to share incident categories, publishing statistics, supporting local authorities’ communication, and reviewing the Wildfire Framework to clarify roles and responsibilities.
• Fund research to address the risk of wildfire through increasing the natural resilience of habitats to wildfires, such as through re-wetting or restoring hydrological function.
• Continue to support woodland creation and peatland restoration projects through funding and by recording hectares planted or restored. The EWCO (England Woodland Creation Offer) will help incentivise the planting of woodlands and trees outside of woodland. The EWCO is targeted towards landowners and managers.

Goal 9: Biosecurity

To deliver Goal 9 to enhance biosecurity to protect our natural environment and boost the health and resilience of plants, animals, ecosystems and people, the government has committed to:

• Understand, prevent, eradicate and control biodiversity threats from invasive non-native species, animal and plant pests and diseases.

Goal 10: Access to nature

To deliver Goal 10 to ensure inclusive access to nature and protect nature’s beauty and heritage, the government has committed to:

• Ensure that everyone has access to green or blue spaces within a 15-minute walk from home, through the establishment of nine National River Walks.
• Repeal of the cut-off date for recording historic rights of way by 2031. The NFU doesn’t support the repeal of the cut-off date.
• Develop measures to improve responsible access that protect and enhance nature and visitor experiences, aiming to increase the number of people visiting the countryside and coast for leisure and tourism purposes, by widening the public’s access in National Parks and National Landscapes. Improve access to nature through ELMs.