Collaboration is key to achieving goals set for sustainable agriculture in the UK, according to a new report backed by a major high street bank.
Published at this year’s Oxford Farming Conference, Roadmap for financing a regenerative agricultural transition in England, adds to the food and nature discussion.
The report was produced by The World Wide Fund for Nature and backed by NatWest as part of the bank’s support for the organisation that began in 2023.
It sets out the WWF’s roadmap, which highlights the power of collaboration and sets out actions for all parts of the food system.
NatWest Group co-hosted a series of sustainability themed workshops in 2023 with WWF and participated in the bilateral interviews showcased in the report.
Ian Burrow, head of agriculture at NatWest Group, explained that the sponsorship aims to accelerate the shift towards developing sustainable agricultural solutions.
“Agriculture has a huge role to play in developing solutions to meet the UK’s climate and nature goals,” said Burrow. “We are grateful to farmers for sharing their experience of transitioning their businesses in line with net zero and achieving positive outcomes for nature, and we recognise the unprecedented challenges they face.”
The report argues that businesses across the food value chain should distribute both the risk and cost of the transition to nature-friendly farming.
NatWest has already committed £6.7bn of total funding to the agriculture sector, solidifying its commitment to green money, the bank said in a statement.