Is investing into farming really the best way to enhance sustainable food production?

The government have pledged £31 million to the farmers to boost sustainable food production in the UK. Farmers will benefit from new equipment and technology, which will reduce emissions and waste.

The £31 million fund is part of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will be put towards farming businesses so they can invest in the tools that are essential in sustainable production. This donation aims to improve sustainability in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

Sustainable food production relies on healthy soils, clean water, plants and animals. Another huge factor that maintains the production of sustainable food is stable weather.

Research shows that nature and a stable climate can boost soil fertility. A stable climate can also control pests and protect crops from heavy rainfall, floods and drought.

Farmers are able to apply for grants under the new budget, which will help cover the costs of over 90 pieces of equipment. This grant comes under the Productivity and Slurry fund.

The pieces of farming equipment include rainwater harvesting tanks to reduce water scarcity in the summer, tree shears to help stop the spread of diseases and pests and equipment that minimises grass contamination and ammonia emissions when spreading slurry.

The slurry is a liquid mixture of manure and water, which farmers use as a natural crop fertiliser.

Ammonia emissions can lead to an increase in acid depositions, together with an influx of nutrient levels in soil, rivers and lakes. The release of ammonia emissions can inevitably damage forests, crops and other vegetation plantations. Ammonia emissions can also have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

The Secretary of State for Food and Farming, Therese Coffey declared: "By empowering farms to invest cash in new kit, we are ensuring our farmers, growers and foresters have the equipment they need to embrace innovation, protect the environment and contribute to a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector."

Scientists from Stanford and the University of California are also working towards sustainable food production.

The study, published in PLoS Climate, noted that phasing out animal agriculture over 15 years and switching to a global plant-based diet, would effectively halt the increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases for 30 years.

Patrick Brown, a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University, explained that "as the methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock diminish, atmospheric levels of those potent greenhouse gases will actually drop dramatically within decades".

"The CO2 that was released into the atmosphere when forests and wild prairies were replaced by feed crops and grazing lands can be converted back into biomass as livestock are phased out and the forests and prairies recover," the professor added.

The World Meteorological Organisation has reported that there is a 98 per cent chance that at least one of the next five years will be "the warmest on record", due to the current climate crisis.

While urging farmers to cease animal agriculture, Brown stated: "Reducing or eliminating animal agriculture should be at the top of the list of potential climate solutions. I'm hoping that others, including entrepreneurs, scientists and global policymakers will recognise that this is our best and most immediate chance to reverse the trajectory of climate change and seize the opportunity."

Brown, who is also the CEO of Impossible Foods, also recognised that while working towards tackling weather extremes "the people who make a living from animal agriculture" must not "suffer when it is reduced or replaced."

Professor Patrick Brown concluded: "The great thing about science is that, in the end, it all comes down to whether conclusions are supported by the evidence. And in this case, they are."