They'll work hand-in-hand to provide dedicated conservation and habitat advice, with an aim to support over 300 farmers and landowners in East Anglia to adopt nature-friendly farming approaches.
The area is one of Tesco’s key regions for sourcing fresh produce, and the partnership will create vital habitats for Turtle Doves and other at-risk bird species, such as Lapwings and Stone Curlews.
Expert advisors will offer backing to farmers, including those who suppl Tesco, and local community owned land with advice on creating and enhancing spaces for nature including tree planting and hedgerow laying, creating and restoring ponds, establishing grass and scrub buffer strips, and adding flower-rich field boundary areas.
Providing good quality wildlife habitats not only improves biodiversity and supports a range of species, but also support farm resilience by boosting pollination, offering natural pest management, and improving soil health, allowing it to hold water for longer which can provide protection against extreme weather caused by drought and flooding.
Advisors will also signpost farmers on how to access existing funding opportunities to achieve this, such as the recently updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).
The Turtle Dove is the UK’s only long-distance migratory dove and is an indicator species of good farmland biodiversity.
The birds rely on small seeds from low-growing flowering plants for food, tall dense thorny scrub or hedgerows for nesting, and access to fresh drinking water in order to thrive.
Since the late 1960s they’ve suffered the most extreme decline of any bird species in the UK, but there is evidence the tide is turning with the first exciting signs of recovery.
With a hunting ban in place in western Europe since 2021, that population has already increased by 25%. Now, ensuring the UK landscape is ‘Turtle Dove Ready’ with plenty of high-quality habitat for these birds to breed, is a top priority.
Speaking about the launch of the new partnership, Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “The UK food industry relies on healthy soils, clean water supplies, and abundant biodiversity, so it’s vital we play our part in protecting and restoring nature in our supply chain, including in East Anglia, a key sourcing region for much of our UK-grown fresh produce.
“Our farmers and suppliers in East Anglia want to do as much as they can to help protect and restore nature in the area, so we’re delighted to be working in partnership with the RSPB on such a crucial project. They will bring a huge amount of expertise and experience, and I’m sure will play a pivotal role in encouraging many of these at-risk species back to the farmland of the region.”
Katie-Jo Luxton, Director of Conservation at the RSPB, added: “In our lifetimes, nearly half of our farmland birds, mammals, amphibians, insects and invertebrates have disappeared, along with 97% of our wildflower meadows.
Thankfully, dedicated nature-friendly farmers and conservationists are already taking action to bring habitats and wildlife back across the UK, but support for their actions from across the supply chain - from consumers to supermarkets - will be crucial if we are to deliver at the scale nature needs.
We know we can’t reverse the tide for nature without farmers, and we’re looking forward to working together with Tesco, their suppliers and farmers, and community groups to help wildlife flourish in our countryside once more.”
G’s, which has farms across England, including East Anglia, is a key supplier of fresh produce to Tesco. They are already seeing the benefits of protecting and restoring nature on their farms.
Peter Sargeant, MD of G’s Fresh in Norfolk said: “At G’s Norfolk Farms we have created a unique habitat combining large scale salad and vegetable production, while allowing wildlife to flourish.
"Across our 1,400ha farm, we have c.10% of our total farm in uncropped areas, with 70 miles of native fen species, willow and alder hedgerows and 80 miles of interconnected watercourses and ditches which and provide a natural habitat for biodiversity and Fenland birds to thrive.
"We've been able to monitor good populations of farmland specialist indicator species of grey partridge, corn bunting, yellow wagtail, whitethroat, lapwing and skylark across the farm as well as breeding barn owls, kestrels and marsh harriers.
"We're very proud to host one of the UK’s largest populations of breeding Nightingales that return not only to the farm but the same bush year after year.”
The partnership is the latest to be announced as part of Tesco’s Nature Programme, a series of initiatives and partnerships which will help to protect and restore nature in some of Tesco’s key sourcing landscapes.
Support will also be provided to the RSPB’s Big Give Christmas Challenge 2024, a 1-week matched fundraising campaign aimed at raising funds to support Operation Turtle Dove.
The partnership, will see Tesco support the RSPB through social shares and engagement, increasing the reach and awareness of the Big Give and Operation Turtle Dove to its followers.
By offering dedicated advisory support to farmers and landowners, informed by the RSPB’s world-class conservation expertise, the project will enable the scaling-up of existing programmes to support biodiversity and address the impact of agriculture on nature.
A fantastic Christmas gift to not only our Turtle Doves but everyone of us!
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