MPs Urged to Back More Agricultural Biogas Development : Farmers Descend on Parliament to Back UK Anaerobic Digestion Industry
The UK’s anaerobic digestion industry has been championed at an event in parliament today attended by nearly 150 farmers and around 90 MPs and Peers.
The farming themed event was organised in an effort to raise awareness about the technology's value to agricultural businesses and the rural economy, and to petition politicians for more targeted support for on-farm AD operators.
According to the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) chief executive, Charlotte Morton, the overwhelming political interest the meeting could signal a marked shift in recognition for the industry's value.
"A growth surge in on-farm AD, with a doubling of plant numbers to 172 over the last two years alone, highlights how much farmers are recognising the benefit of integrating AD into their businesses,” she said.
However, Morton explained that to build on this momentum the industry is now seeking support for the considerable non-energy contributions that benefit every UK household, but for which she said farmers do not receive any recognition.
“We want to see Defra and DECC working closely together to assess how government can support small-scale AD to continue to improve rural farming businesses' resilience in a policy environment where dwindling incentives challenge its commercial viability at the very point at which it is scaling, and when the Committee on Climate Change are urging action to decarbonise farming," she concluded.
The Shadow Farming Minister, Nick Smith MP, added: “Inedible food bound for the scrap heap being turned into cleaner, greener energy is exactly the sort of thinking we should be taking into all walks of life.”
“With farm incomes struggling, I would be happy to see more small farms access this technology if it meant less of our waste going to waste,” he continued.
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