Land managers and farmers in Anglian Water’s region have picked up almost £1m in funding from the water company and foodstuffs giant, Nestlé to improve the local landscape through a “regenerative approach to farming.”
The farmers are being funded to implement measures that will “deliver many benefits including improving water quality and availability, prevent flooding and soil erosion, regenerate soils, reduce carbon emissions, capture carbon, enhance biodiversity,” said Anglian.
The £980,000 investment falls under Anglian’s first project with Landscape Enterprise Network (LENs) – a programme developed by consultant 3Keel in conjunction with Nestlé to create a “mechanism through which businesses with a common interest in protecting the environment can work together.”
The first project will involve more than 4,300 hectares of land in the East of England. The measures funded by the deal include:
cover crops which protect water quality by ensuring that soil is not left bare and vulnerable to erosion over winter;
reduced cultivations to help keep soils healthier and reduce losses of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere;
crop rotation to reduce damage by pests, improve soil structure and help reduce dependency on synthetic fertilisers; and
hedge planting to create a biodiverse habitat, capture carbon and bring a number of soil health benefits.
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