Burnham Announces 65 Million Pound Package for Drought-Hit Farmers
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced 65 million pounds of support for farmers hit by the drought that has accompanied the heatwave and wildfires, saying growers should not carry the risk of a changing climate alone. The funding is aimed at those whose crops and livestock have suffered in the driest conditions in years. It forms part of the government’s wider emergency response.
Farmers have been among the hardest hit by a summer of extreme heat and drought, with parched fields, failed crops and stressed livestock threatening yields and incomes, and the promise of state support acknowledges how exposed the sector is to a warming climate. The package is intended to cushion the immediate blow, though farming groups will press for detail on who qualifies and how quickly the money flows. Beyond the farm gate, damaged harvests feed through to food prices, making this as much a cost-of-living measure as an agricultural one. It also signals a government trying to show it is gripping a crisis on several fronts at once, from fires to food. Watch how the funding is distributed and whether it is enough to steady the sector.