The Rowan Johnstone PhD Studentship: Policies to Build Resilience in UK agriculture

Agriculture is likely to be deeply affected by the UK’s exit from the European Union. Farm businesses are heavily dependent on payments from the Common Agricultural Policy. In 2014/15 in England and Wales, 15% of Farm Business Income was derived from Agri-Environment scheme (Pillar 2) payments and 57% from the Single Farm Payment (Pillar 1). In some farm types the dependence on CAP payments was even higher with, for example, 39% and 94% of Farm Business Income for Less Favoured Area Grazing Livestock farms derived from Agri-Environment schemes and the Single Farm Payment respectively (Winter and Lobley 2016). This is a total greater than 100%, thereby indicating loss-making within many core agricultural enterprises including both cereals and beef and sheep production. Whilst current levels of support payments are likely to remain unchanged until 2020, thereafter many commentators believe there will be a substantial reduction, and possible elimination, of Pillar 1 payments. Some of this money may be transferred to whatever replaces Pillar 2 and will be linked to payments for public goods.

In this context of potentially rapid change, there is a need to research ways by which families and businesses might be encouraged and helped to adapt.

The PhD will be supervised by Professors Lobley and Winter (University of Exeter). Together, they have many years’ experience in researching issues of this nature and their recent report for the Prince’s Countryside Trust demonstrates their leadership in this field and also provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for ensuring the future of the family farm which will inform the proposed PhD research. (Reference - Winter, M. and Lobley, M. (2016) Is there a Future for the Small Family Farm in the UK? Report to The Prince’s Countryside Fund, London: Prince’s Countryside Fund. ISBN 978-902746-36-7)

The proposed PhD will:

• Explore alternative paths for farm business survival and resilience with less dependence on the subsidy regime. This might include new markets, enhanced business management, and business diversification.

• Explore how policy might impede or encourage such adaptation with focus on policy ‘knowns’ that are largely independent of the Brexit process, such as land tenure, tax regimes, policies for agricultural education and advice, energy policy, and land use planning.

The student will be supervised by Professors Matt Lobley and Michael Winter (University of Exeter).

Visit our website for further details: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=2599