Despite years of digital government initiatives, approximately two-thirds of the UK’s farming agency’s interactions with its 21 million customers still rely on paper-based forms.

According to a recent report published by the Public Accounts Committee, as of July 2021, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ services still had significant components that necessitated users to contact helplines or complete offline forms.

The Parliamentary public spending watchdog highlighted that currently, out of the 101 transactional services offered by Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs), only 34 of them can be fully accessed and utilized online.

In 2022, Defra managed an annual budget of £4.6 billion ($5.75 billion), but this amount is projected to decrease due to public spending cuts. Despite this, the department still incurs additional expenses to maintain and operate its extensive legacy estate.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reported that the Whitehall department, Defra, manages approximately 365 main business applications. Among these applications, only 20 percent were newly developed and directly supported by the original supplier. About half of the applications were on extended support, while 30 percent were out of support and necessitated “hypercare” from the Defra tech team.

The PAC stated that Defra may incur additional charges for support in relation to the 80 percent of applications that are in extended support or hypercare. The report also highlighted that the higher proportion of out-of-support applications increased the risk of failure and vulnerability to cyber attacks.

In a concerning case, the system utilized for recording bovine tuberculosis test results necessitated users to purchase outdated laptops from eBay in order to run Defra’s application, as modern operating systems were no longer supported. The PAC noted that Defra stated it had recently invested approximately £11 million ($13.75 million) in upgrading the system, making it compatible with devices such as iPads or phones.

The legacy issue has hindered the progress of Defra’s technological advancement plans, diverting resources and attention away from moving forward. According to the PAC, Defra lacks the necessary strategy or vision for long-term digital transformation. While efforts have been made to stabilize legacy applications and address cybersecurity and operational risks, there is currently no strategy in place for transforming digital services. Additionally, Defra has not taken a proactive approach to address challenges such as reducing reliance on paper forms and making applications accessible on mobile phones.

Instead of taking a proactive approach, Defra has primarily focused on reacting to urgent matters, such as implementing IT systems for EU Exit, according to MPs. The report highlights that Defra lacks agreed standards for IT systems throughout the department, hindering consistent development across the organization. The PAC advises Defra to develop a comprehensive digital and data strategy and provide a detailed report by the end of March 2024, outlining the planned actions as part of the strategy.

The UK government unveiled a digital strategy in June of the previous year, with a goal of achieving a transformed and efficient digital government by 2025. The strategy aimed to deliver user-centric policies and public services that are aligned with the digital age and focused on meeting user needs and delivering positive outcomes. However, based on the PAC report, it appears that Defra has significant progress to make if it is to fulfill these aspirations within the next 18 months.

On January 1, the new CAP arrived, which will be applied during the period 2023-2027. It has taken five years to come up with legal texts with which Europe intended to promote a competitive and diversified agricultural sector to guarantee food security, support and protect the environment, climate and biodiversity, as well as strengthen the socioeconomic fabric of rural areas.

But environmental sustainability has eclipsed the rest, leaving the social objective and especially the economic one without support, according to the analysis carried out by the technical services of Asaja Castilla y León.

Despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Europe persists in its Green Pact and in complying with the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies that permeate the spirit of the CAP that we are launching with the new year.

New Strategic Plan

On August 31, 2022, the European Commission approved our CAP Strategic Plan, congratulating Spain for proposing exemplary interventions and measures to achieve the aforementioned objectives, even exceeding the minimums set for the environmental objective.

In the last days of the year, different legal texts have begun to be published at the national level, a law and 18 royal decrees. Then the regional government will develop them for application in Castilla y León.

Farmers and ranchers have had to plan and sow without knowing their obligations, “in precarious”, as the agrarian organization points out.

Food Chain Law

This law, in force since December 16, 2021, postponed until the beginning of 2023 the implementation of the Registry of Food Contracts. In the last days of the year, the Royal Decree was approved that develops the register of digital food contracts in which the contracts signed with primary producers and their groups must be registered, on a mandatory basis.

This registry, in compliance with the Food Chain Law, increases the protection of primary producers and their groups, by facilitating the functions of inspection and control of commercial relations.

The registration of contracts in the registry will start on January 31, 2023, although there will be a transitional period to facilitate its gradual implementation, until it becomes mandatory, starting on June 30.

It seems impossible to stop the “huge difference” in prices between what the consumer pays and what the producer receives, but Asaja is confident that the application of the Food Chain Law will continue to take steps to achieve this.

Combined Agricultural Insurance Plan

In November, the 44th Combined Agricultural Insurance Plan was approved, which establishes all the lines of insurance whose contracting period will begin throughout the year 2023 with a line of subsidies that totals 317.7 million euros.

The plan includes the different lines of subsidies applied and the percentages established for each of them, which in total add up to 317.7 million euros.

This increase is highly relevant for farms, especially in the current context of increased production costs and higher accident rates caused by adverse weather events that have occurred during the year.

The most important novelty is the 10 percentage point increase in the base subsidy. This increase has already begun to be applied to those lines whose contracting period began on September 1, 2022.

In this way, depending on the group to which the insured belongs, between 50 and 60% of the minimum subsidy can be achieved in the most contracted modality.

Duero Hydrological Plan

Submitted to a vote, the Duero Hydrological Plan Project 2022-2027 was rejected by the members of the Demarcation’s Water Council, with a result of 42 votes against and 34 in favor.

Asaja has been one of the organizations that has voted against, refusing this approval from the outset, considering that the new Duero Hydrological Plan threatens the interests of the agricultural sector.

Other agrarian organizations, irrigation communities and the Water Council have joined this rejection. It is significant that this project defended by the Duero Hydrographic Confederation has had the support of the representatives of the hydroelectric companies, totally disconnected from the reality of the agricultural sector.

For Asaja, the modernization of irrigation is the best formula for saving water, preventing pollution from runoff and increasing the competitiveness of farms. Climate change is a reality and water plays a very important role, so today infrastructure and storage capacity for this resource are more necessary than ever.

Despite the majority rejection of the project, the Duero Hydrographic Confederation will submit the plan to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, so that, if it so decides, it can be approved as a Royal Decree.

Double electricity rate

Regarding electricity, the agrarian organization is still waiting for the Government to implement the double tariff already approved in various legal texts throughout this legislature for the agricultural sector.

In Law 30/2022, of December 23, which regulates the management system of the Common Agricultural Policy, a final provision is included that allows the owners of agricultural exploitations to take advantage of the temporary flexibility mechanisms of the supply contracts of electrical energy included in article 7 of Royal Decree-Law 18/2022 which, although it would only be in force in 2023, begins with a reason.

Asaja hopes that this new legal text will be applied and irrigators can finally benefit from a double electricity tariff that adjusts to their consumption demands, thus fulfilling a historical claim.

We also hope that the electricity marketers give the change authorizations as quickly as possible, since the law obliges them to remain with the new power for a minimum period.

Vulnerable areas

The modification of the Royal Decree on the protection of water against diffuse pollution produced by nitrates from agricultural sources proposed in 2021 by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge finally came to light in January 2022.

This new Royal Decree establishes much more restrictive criteria in determining both the contaminated areas, as well as those that could be contaminated if the appropriate measures are not taken, lowering the maximum limits of contamination by 25 or 50% over the current community directive.

By lowering these limits, there is the possibility that the entire territory of Castilla y León is classified as a vulnerable area, with the inconveniences and restrictions that this entails for our sector.

Asaja advocates in this matter for the concrete identification of the problem that diffuse pollution produces in order to have current power over it. Specific measures must be taken to find the root cause and control the problem.

The general measures, if they were not very ambitious, would not reverse the problem and if they are excessively drastic, as is the case, they could solve it or not, but in exchange for putting an important and strategic productive sector at risk.

The MAPA is also preparing a regulation in this line through the implementation of a new Royal Decree on sustainable nutrition of agricultural soils that will add new requirements and restrictions on fertilizing crops and greater difficulties in agricultural production.

The organization hopes that the administrations give a long period of adaptation to the sector and put at their disposal the necessary tools with which to work. It is also important that new generation fertilizers and formulations are accessible to the producer, both agronomically and economically.

Livestock regulations

At the end of the year, abundant regulations were published, among which a royal decree for the management of bovine farms stands out, which will limit the maximum size of newly installed farms. Time will tell if it will serve to stop the continuous bleeding of professionals, or on the contrary so that in other parts of the world they take over the markets that we lose.

On January 2, 2023, a royal decree comes into force that regulates the general registry of the Best Available Techniques (MTD) in livestock farms, as well as the support for the calculation, monitoring and notification of emissions in livestock. The standard establishes the structure of this registry and the minimum content of the information that farmers must communicate to the public administrations regarding the estimation of their emissions and the application of the MTD, in line with the obligations established in the royal decrees of livestock management. .

The decree on animal health and protection regulations during transport also enters into force, which repeals the previous regulations of 2016 and introduces changes in the welfare conditions of livestock and requirements for professionals, in line with the recommendations they make in this regard. community instances, within the current regulatory framework.

We must add a fourth royal decree with a series of national measures to promote a sustainable use of antibiotics in the field of species of livestock interest. The sale of antimicrobials in Spain is higher than the European average, so in the opinion of the Ministry it is necessary to urgently address their use in livestock farms.

Inspections of phytosanitary equipment (ITEAF)

In the last quarter of the year, the draft for updating the order that regulates the ITEAF in Castilla y León was published. The draft proposes to apply in our community the possibility offered by the National Royal Decree of deregistering ex officio from the Official Register of Agricultural Machinery (ROMA) the equipment for the application of phytosanitary products that have not passed the corresponding inspection or whose validity period has expired, prior communication to the interested party.

Asaja has requested that the owner of the machine be given the option of keeping it registered under his responsibility, since the Renewal Plan for agricultural machinery contemplates the scrapping of a machine in order to qualify for renewal and this would mean the exclusion of many farmers from our community compared to those of other territories where it does not apply.

According to Masofa Moshoesho, a green economy specialist, the industry could create 1.4 million jobs and generate up to $30 billion in annual revenue.

Green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water using renewable energy, is one of three key ways South Africa is moving away from coal. Two other ways are the development of the production of electric vehicles and the transition to wind and solar energy.

The plan, included in Moshoesho’s presentation at the COP27 international climate conference in Egypt, calls for South Africa to export up to eight million tons of clean fuels and derivatives by 2050 and meet two to five million tons of local demand.

There are a number of bilateral negotiations going on between South Africa and potential markets, Moshoesho said. Bloomberg writes about it.

AFP reporters watched as tannery workers shoved rubbish into the river as dirty water flowed into the Nile through plastic pipes, leaving a brown sheen, a stark illustration of the growing scourge.

The city of Jinja, where the Nile begins its 6,500-kilometer journey into the Mediterranean, is a jumble of small houses sandwiched between textile and fish processing plants, shipbuilders, corn mills, brewers and coffee processors.

Rising industrial pollution in the area sparked alarm last year when a report from the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) said that “rich natural resources and outstanding biodiversity in the Nile Basin face unprecedented threats.”

“We’ve seen fish stocks disappear… It’s largely because of the chemicals the factories are dumping into the river,” said one local fisherman.

“Sometimes the fish die in the water,” he added.

“The government sent an army to stop fishing in the deep Nile… but they let the factories pour tons of chemicals into the water and the fish would die,” he continued.

As drinking water is also polluted, anger at authorities and factory owners is growing around Jinji, a city of about 300,000 people where many households have more than 10 members.

“We started itching. The government has stated that it is not good for children and home use. They installed wells, and now we draw water from wells, not from the river,” he added.

Based in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, the Intergovernmental Nile Basin Partnership brings together 10 Nile Basin countries to discuss how best to manage their shared water resources.

Climate change could pose a serious threat to the Nile’s levels, but pollution is increasingly becoming a “bigger problem” in Uganda, said Calliste Tindimugaya of the country’s water and environment ministry.

Tindimugaya said the government has come up with a very direct way to show businesses the environmental impact of their actions. They want the factories to dump their treated wastewater into the same section of the Nile from which they extract their own supplies.

Thus, “they are the first to suffer if they pollute the environment,” he said.

The situation in South African ports, which have been on strike for two weeks, will remain unchanged for now. The industry had expected the strike to last at least a week from the start and had plans in place to limit losses, although some manufacturers were forced to admit that some containers could not be berthed.

There are tens of thousands of import containers at the container terminal in Durban, and when the strike is officially over, a significant number of import containers will need to be cleared, which could take several weeks.

The fruit sector is eyeing Walvis Bay, Namibia, and a new fruit terminal in Maputo is also one option. There are no cooling units at any of the terminals, but for a container with a generator set, this is not a problem.

Some blueberry exporters were about to embark on this path, but the news of the first breakthrough in the negotiations made them wait.

Blueberry growers have had to continue picking up and storing pallets that should already be on the ship in cold stores where storage costs are skyrocketing.

Meetings between Transnet and the fruit sector will continue to update the latter on the status of negotiations.

The union, which first went on strike after wage talks stalled for months, has accepted the latest wage offer, while a second union appears to be holding on.

The news that one union had accepted a wage offer was received with great relief by the chairman of BerriesZA.

“However, I must emphasize that we are far from being out of the woods and that the next 10-14 days are absolutely necessary to normalize our exports. as it is critical to the sustainability of these industries,” said Justin Mudge.

“No Light Spot”

South Africa’s absence from Europe gives more space to Peru, where blueberry stocks outnumber those of South Africa. “There is no bright spot,” notes the manager of the blueberry sector.

Blueberry prices will come under pressure and some growers will have to stop after two difficult years if they don’t get good payouts this season.

Last year, the blueberry season was also accompanied by logistical problems; Ironically, the Cape Town Container Terminal now has enough cranes to service three berths, but no people to operate them.

The sector is very concerned about the loss of jobs, which could cause another difficult season for some blueberry growers.

Unforeseen quantities in cold stores reduce service time

Cold stores, where blueberries were packed for ships that couldn’t load, now have 75% fewer pallets than last year.

“Fortunately, it’s the end of the citrus season and we didn’t have a lot,” says Western Cape’s cold store manager. “If this had happened three or four weeks ago, we would have been in serious trouble. Luckily, we had the capacity to handle so many blueberries.”

This is usually the only quiet month of the year in this refrigerator before the start of the grape harvest. “My staff is due to go on vacation this month and we are doing a major overhaul. The strike has resulted in warehouses full of fruit. Now there is no time for training and vacations. very intense to get everything ready for the grape season. If the strike ends now and we can resume loading, we can catch up.”

A signature to avoid a global food crisis. Russia and Ukraine, which alone account for 30% of the wheat trade, reached an agreement allowing the resumption of grain exports blocked by the war on Friday 22 July. The two countries signed two identical but separate texts, at the request of Ukraine.

An easing of Western sanctions against Russia

The United Nations hailed an unprecedented agreement. “It is a relief for countries on the verge of bankruptcy, and for all countries threatened by famine,” said Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations. Thanks to secure corridors on the Black Sea, and localized ceasefires in crossing areas, 25 million tonnes of cereals, hitherto immobilized in Ukrainian ports, will be able to be transported around the world. In return, Vladimir Putin obtained relief from Western sanctions. Russian exports of agricultural products will no longer be penalized.

Cereal prices continued to quickly slide into negative territory midway through Friday on Euronext. The market still blamed the USDA report of the day before, in which American corn acreage was revised upwards, while stocks on June 1 recorded a clear increase over one year.

Macroeconomic considerations and harvest pressure also continue to pull down winter cereals. Winter wheat harvests are indeed starting very early in France, while those of winter barley are already advanced to 41% according to FranceAgriMer, compared to barely 2% last year at the same period. The spring barley harvest is also starting early.

Around 1:30 p.m., Euronext wheat maturing in December 2022 eased by €4.75/t, to €339.75/t, while the September 2022 contract fell by €4.25/t, to €346/t. Euronext corn for November 2022 delivery fell by €3.25/t, to €293.50/t, the August 2022 term fell by €1.50/t, to €296.50/t.

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Thanks to the spread of 5G technology, it will not be long before you can download a movie onto your smartphone in seconds or connect any item in your home to the internet. However, the new communications standard will change not only our everyday lives, but also industries that are usually hidden from us – such as livestock farming.

According to Reuters, Cisco Systems has already started testing 5G on Holstein dairy cows in three rural areas in south-west England.

“Connected” cows wear a special collar that controls a robotic milking system. When an animal is ready to be milked, it approaches the gate of the machine and it automatically opens. The system recognises the cow by sight, attaches the milking machine gently to the udder and delivers food as a reward. In addition, the test animals are provided with smart ear tags which monitor their health status. They allow farmers to quickly spot the first signs of illness.

Many farms already use smart technology, but the advent of 5G will make it much more effective. If the experiment is successful, “connected cows” will appear in rural areas across the country.

The world’s first urban area connected to 5G has appeared in Shanghai. The city was chosen for a reason – it is one of the most technologically advanced megacities in China.

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This is reported by World Grain, citing data from a report by the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

According to the report, a combination of cold, dry April and wet May, followed by warmer weather in June and July with heavy downpours, contributed to crop development and improvement.

USDA forecasts UK wheat production in 2021/22 MY to be 15m tonnes, which, if realised, would be 5m tonnes higher than the wheat crop produced in the previous marketing year.

According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) crop development tool, two-thirds of the winter wheat crop is rated as good or excellent, with only a small proportion rated as poor or very poor. Around 50% of spring wheat is in good to excellent condition.

“Despite reduced acreage, UK barley production in 2021/22 MY is expected to be 7.2m tonnes. Around two-thirds of winter barley is also in good to excellent condition, and the spring crop, which rooted well when planted in March and April, is in good condition,” the report says

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The Spanish bio-oceanologist and National Geographic’s top researcher has sounded the conclusions that catching fish with heavy nets that drag on the seabed is detrimental to the climate. This most common fishing method in the world, called bottom trawling, destroys the landscape of the seabed, resulting in the emission of about as much carbon dioxide as the entire aviation industry.

Bottom trawling in the fishing industry generates about one gigatonne of carbon dioxide annually (two per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions). Aviation worldwide generates an average of 1.04 gigatons per year, or 2.5 per cent of total carbon dioxide emissions.

“The ocean is full of sea creatures. Plankton, microscopic algae and shrimp accumulate on the bottom for millions of years after they die. When at rest, these remains absorb carbon; when stirred up, they release it,” Dr Sala explained.

Fisheries experts have challenged Sala’s findings, accusing the oceanologist of overstating CO2 emissions from bottom trawling. The South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA) says the exact amount of carbon being released from the ocean into the atmosphere is currently unknown.

Sal’s counterargument is that the amount of emissions from trawling is not as important as the fact that seawater absorbs more carbon from the bottom and takes less carbon from the air.

The scientist argues that protecting the ocean will help stop these emissions. Many countries have already set up marine protected areas where trawling is banned. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) sees a global target of protecting at least 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Barry Deas of the National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations (NFFO) expressed fears that if too many protected areas are established, the fishery will simply change places, which will also affect catches and industry revenues.

The international research community is constantly looking for new ways to save the world’s oceans from human interference in their ecosystems. Recently, scientists at the Zoological Society of London proposed using artificial corals to restore populations of polyps, the planet’s most important indicators of pollution.