This report shows that the future success of the UK’s land‑based sectors depends not only on recognising their strategic importance, but on addressing long‑standing weaknesses in how skills are planned, co-ordinated and supported.
The land-based sectors of the UK’s economy – including agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, forestry and environmental land management – manage over 80% of the UK’s land area and employ 625,000 people in over 160,000 businesses.
These sectors generate enormous societal value – estimated at £41bn per year – through the environmental, recreation and health benefits generated by the natural environment they manage. They provide jobs and boost local spending in rural areas which sometimes have limited employment opportunities but represent 22% of parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales. They are central to national priorities such as economic growth, food and energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and nature recovery.