UK | Tesco has launched a significant extension of its environmental data baselining programme to help hundreds of British lamb and beef farmers capture soil, water and nature data at scale for the first time.
The retailer has also called for the introduction of a national data baselining framework to end the patchwork approach to data collection and safeguard the country’s food security.
Tesco UK CEO Ashwin Prasad will make the call to action at an event for British farmers and food suppliers at Tesco’s headquarters.
It followed new research from Tesco canvassing the views of hundreds of UK farmers, which found an overwhelming 91 percent want the government to do more to support farming resilience – something UK consumers also support, as 89 percent of customers think the government should be doing more to support UK farmers.
The research found that the majority of farmers want to do more to make their farms more environmentally friendly, but cited inconsistent environmental standards and data reporting as key barriers.
A further 73 percent reported difficulties getting vital innovations onto farms that will improve efficiency, resilience and sustainability. Soil health, critical to farm productivity and the ability to grow food, was called out by 64 percent of farmers as a particular area of concern.
Tesco’s new data baselining programme (referred to as Tesco Sustainable Farming Programme) aims to address these concerns.
Delivered in partnership with Soil Association Exchange (SAX), it will support 360 beef and lamb farmers from Tesco’s Sustainable Farming Groups to capture soil, water and nature data at an unprecedented scale.
The programme builds on Tesco’s financial incentives scheme, which it launched in August.
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