LONDON - UK farmers are to get state cash to help wildlife flourish, but green groups onFriday said the move was unlikely to repair much of the damage caused by years of intensive production. Britain's farm ministry this month launched a scheme that will see farmers in England receive money if they abandon part of their land to nature, creating habitats for all types of wildlife.
"I think it's a significant shift in thinking...It's a welcome change, but it's still not enough," said Vicki Hird, a policy advisor at environment group Friends of the Earth.
"What we need is a big change in attitude to farming in the UK," she added.
FARM, an independent farmers' group, said demands from supermarkets for good quality produce at cheaper prices might leave many producers with little time for the new programme.
"The biggest drive towards intensive farming is the dominance of the food chain by some processors and retailers...Farmers are too often being forced into an intensive system in the name of efficiency," FARM spokesman Peter Lundgren said.
The government's new Environment Stewardship Scheme offers farmers, including organic producers, between 30 and 60 pounds a hectare for promoting wildlife.
Analysts say the project is likely to cost more than 300 million pounds a year within a few years, more than double the amount spent annually on existing environment schemes.
English farmers have broadly welcomed the move.
BIRD LOVERS DELIGHT
National Farmers Union (NFU) spokesman Kevin Pearce said it was unrealistic to think farmers would become environmental stewards for free.
"It's about switching the funding to ensure the people who do all this extra work add value to the environment," he said.
Graham Wynne, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: "Intensive farming has wreaked havoc with many of our best loved countryside birds.
"The skylark, yellowhammer, turtle dove, corn bunting and grey partridge all rely on farmland to survive, but none of these birds can compete with the efficiency of modern farming and all have more than halved in number since the 1970s.
"We call on farmers to rise to the new challenge of restoring birdsong to the countryside."