This week I’d like to introduce you to a campaign that I believe to be incredibly important for the future of food growing in the UK. We already know farming is the least diverse sector in the UK, with horticulture coming an embarrassing second, and that is because there are often huge barriers to people accessing land and skills. Sadly opportunities often assume a level of wealth being available to the trainee that enables them to exist on a stipend and accomodation, often in a caravan or similar, and of course that cuts interested people who that cannot work for, out of the running. Imagine being a single mum, or dad, someone for whom access to parental support simply isn’t there, from a minority community, and however interested in agriculture you might be, there is no way this will work for you. We see it over and over in spring in my sector, and frankly it makes me so cross, there are regular rants to friends and family. In fact it’s what kept me from farming. As a single mum with responsibilities there was no way I could have undergone a traineeship like this.
Anyway there is a new campaign that is making a few waves. Called Basic Income 4 Farmers it’s a campaign asking for support to young, new and entrant farmers to be guaranteed a basic income. I think this is particularly important in the market garden/horticulture end of farming, and would enable lots of people onto land through places such as the Agroecological Land Trust. There was this article posted in the Guardian last week and you can read their report here.
As seed sowing season is well and truly underway, if you get to the point where you’re wondering what to do with all the extras you have, a reminder that your local community garden will likely be only too pleased to take some off your hands. But get in touch with them first because they might just be overwhelmed. They will be able, I have no doubt, to send you to places that will gratefully receive seedlings or even to a plant swap.
And finally, did you know it’s Peat Free April? This campaign began a few years ago when a group of us, all passionate about moving away from peat based growing media, both in home gardens and in the horticulture industry, got together to create a campaign asking for an all out ban and policy to support that ban. Whilst the compost industry definitely received and heard the memo, the legislation is still not there and with a general election looming, that promise could disappear.
Next week there is a 10 minute rule bill being introduced in the Commons, and the great guys at Garden Organic have created a template letter to send to your MP to ask they attend the bills hearing and vote for the ban. It will take five minutes to fill in and finally get us to the point where we should have been years ago. If you’d like to read more of my writing about peat you’ll find it in an earlier post where I bought all my previous posts about peat together.
Don’t forget to email your MP at the link!
Until next week……
Hi Sara, this is a great newsletter and thank you for sharing all the resources at Garden Organic on peat free gardening. I can't find the link to write to my MP - there is nothing on the Guardian or Report link either. Thank you!