9.15-12.30 Saturday 9th December at Clynfyw Care Farm, Abercych, north Pembrokeshire

As our climate collapses, how we use our land becomes all the more important. Join the conversation and help make a plan for north Pembrokeshire.

The UK government's Food Security Report 2021 notes that the UK imported 46% of the food we consumed. This does not include the feed we imported for our livestock. We use 71% of our land for agricultural production, the majority of which is grassland used for grazing. By value we imported £48billion of food, feed and drink, while we exported £21.4billion, a difference of £26.5billion.

Our increasingly extreme weather conditions impacts significantly on our yields For example, bad weather meant that our wheat yield dropped by 40% in 2020, making us increasingly dependent on overseas supplies. Often we import this from countries which struggle to feed themselves. The war in Ukraine shows us how very vulnerable we are to influences outside of our control. During the wet lambing season this spring, the DPJ Foundation recorded more phone calls from farmers struggling with their mental health than they have ever taken before. The impact of our changing climate is more direct on the farming community than, perhaps, any other community.

Farming processes produce greenhouse gas emissions. They can also play a vital part in carbon sequestration. How can we adapt land use to reduce emissions while building greater food resilience and security in the process. How can we rebuild our communities with farming at its heart to reduce the impact of the worsening climate while helping Wales transition to Net Zero by 2050 in the process?

There are many opportunities, some of which will be introduced by speakers including:

Wales Climate Week - Climate Conversation- 'Land use in a Climate Emergency.'

9.15-12.30 Saturday 9th December at Clynfyw Care Farm, Abercych, north Pembrokeshire

As our climate collapses, how we use our land becomes all the more important. Join the conversation and help make a plan for north Pembrokeshire.

The UK government's Food Security Report 2021 notes that the UK imported 46% of the food we consumed. This does not include livestock feed. We use 71% of our land for agricultural production, the majority of which is grassland used for grazing. By value we imported £48billion of food, feed and drink, while we exported £21.4billion, a difference of £26.5billion. (ref:1)

Our increasingly extreme weather conditions impacts significantly on our yields For example, bad weather meant that our wheat yield dropped by 40% in 2020, making us increasingly dependent on overseas supplies. Often we import this from countries which struggle to feed themselves. The war in Ukraine shows us how very vulnerable we are to influences outside of our control. (ref:2) During the wet lambing season this spring, the DPJ Foundation recorded more phone calls from farmers struggling with their mental health than they have ever taken before. The impact of our changing climate is more direct on the farming community than, perhaps, any other community. In October, a study by the University of York reported that over 40% of food experts believed that civil unrest was possible in the UK within the next ten years if we do not change our current farming practices. This number went up to 80% within the next 50 years.(ref:3)

Farming processes produce greenhouse gas emissions. They can also play a vital part in carbon sequestration. How can we adapt land use to reduce emissions while building greater food resilience and security in the process. How can we rebuild our communities with farming at its heart to reduce the impact of the worsening climate while helping Wales transition to Net Zero by 2050 in the process? (ref:4)

There are many opportunities, and this event will form part of a series of conversations happening around the UK. The itinerary is evolving, but currently it is:

9.15 sign in Tea/coffee/cake

9.30 Tony Little -Introduction

9.40 Augusta Lewis-Sustainable Food Places Officer for Carmarthenshire: Why a diverse, resilient, equitable and sustainable local food system is essential for future food security, social justice and to be a 'globally responsible Wales'. Using the lens of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act. 2015, a brief talk on why a sustainable food system is key to delivering against the 7 wellbeing goals, how this might look at a practical local level and how Local Food Partnerships are beginning to work on this agenda. Key to this is how we feed the population of Wales a largely local diet supportive of health and wellbeing into the future. This has big implications for current land use, but we can learn from best practice past and present.

10.10 TBC The Farmers Voice

10.40-11.00 Tea break

11-11.15 Rosie Gillam Ffynnone Community Resilience and what the Farm Start Scheme offers

11.15-11.30 Jim Bowen Community Land Ownership and micro-enterprises

11.30-11.45 Tony Little- Enabling agroecological farming systems: The role of local and short supply food systems: Intensive farming systems, and centralised supermarket supply chains didn’t just happen. They are a response to a very particular set of economic and policy conditions that aimed to deliver abundant food as cheaply as possible. In a world where the margins are minuscule, many farmers are locked into a system where the only way to stay in business is to produce as much as possible for the lowest possible financial cost; but the environmental impact of that system is incalculable. Local and short supply chain food systems are an important part of the solution.  By ensuring farmers receive a much higher proportion of the retail pound, we can give producers the financial wriggle room they need to farm in a way that is much more sympathetic with, and less damaging to the environment and can help tackle climate change. Tony Little explores how we got to where are, talks about how developing a different approach to the food system can help us get to where we want to be, and showcases some great projects that have already started us along the way.

11.45-12.00 Voice of the Youth.

12.00-12.30 Discussion and next steps...

Please come along be part of the climate conversation.

This event is organised by Clynfyw Community Benefit Society and is part funded by:..... To book a place, please visit....(https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wales-climate-week-climate-conversation-land-use-in-a-climate-emergency-tickets-751677366237?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1).