Fertile Ground
Farming co-operatives are key to food security and a fairer and more sustainable agricultural sector, writes Jim MacMahon
Co-operatives are Britain’s secret weapon – indeed, a bit too secret. While valued and championed by those who understand their power, co-ops are still not widely recognised as a mainstream economic force. This is a serious mistake. All the evidence shows that, across the economy, co-ops are more resilient, longer lasting and more equitable than comparable business models. Their success lies in the fact that they root wealth in local communities, giving ordinary people a share and a stake in the economy around them. And in agriculture, they offer a practical solution to the issues that have plagued our food security system for years.
In these uncertain times, we must accept that food security is national security. As a result, the security of our supply chains is critical, as are ownership and resilience. Yet British farmers are currently dealing with rising energy costs, volatile global markets, labour shortages and the growing impact of climate change. More worryingly, extreme weather events, from flooding to drought, are becoming more common and more severe.
Meanwhile, long and fragile supply chains leave the UK exposed to international instability in a way that increasingly feels unsustainable. The reality is that our food system has become highly concentrated, heavily dependent on imports and too vulnerable to shocks beyond our control. Unfortunately, it is the poorest who often shoulder these shocks.
Agricultural co-operatives provide a practical answer to many of these problems because they allow farmers to share risk collectively rather than facing it alone. By pooling resources, farmers are able to secure better prices on inputs such as feed, fertiliser and machinery. They can also jointly invest in storage, processing and distribution infrastructure that would otherwise be inaccessible to smaller producers.
Most importantly, co-operatives strengthen farmers ‘bargaining power, which helps ensure that more of the value generated by food production remains with producers rather than being absorbed elsewhere in the food supply chain. This is especially important because of the acute economic pressures facing farmers. The Farming Profitability Review found that almost a third of English farms operated at a loss in 2023/24. In this context, co-operation is not simply an ethical preference or an ideological project; it is an economic necessity. If we want farming to remain viable for future generations, particularly for smaller and medium-sized farms, we must support models that improve resilience and profitability at the same time.
The Co-operative party recently published a comprehensive package of recommendations which set out how to make the most of the co-operative model in UKagriculture. The timing is important: Defra is currently drafting a 25-year farming roadmap to set out its vision for the future of farming. The roadmap must include a clear role for agricultural co-operatives, including ambitious growth targets for the sector and ministerial oversight for their delivery. If our aim is to create a more sustainable farming sector, then taking the co-operative model seriously is key.
Such ambition can only be realised by concrete action. Co-operatives across the economy have long suffered from a lack of business development support, leaving them to navigate a complicated and outdated regulatory environment. For the model to grow and thrive, in agriculture as well as in other sectors, specific co-operative development support is needed. We already have across-government manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative sector; a new development unit within Defra, tasked with identifying barriers to growth for agricultural co-ops, could significantly contribute to meeting this commitment.
There is also a compelling environmental case for co-operative agriculture. The transition to more sustainable and regenerative farming methods often requires significant upfront investment, experimentation and knowledge sharing. Co-operatives make this transition easier by spreading both costs and risks across multiple producers. The Co-operative party report highlights examples such as the First Milk co-op: the overwhelming majority of First Milk members now operate regenerative farm plans. Elsewhere in Europe, collaborative farming initiatives have demonstrated substantial reductions in input costs while improving environmental outcomes.
These successes are important: the challenge facing agriculture is not simply producing enough food but doing so in a way that is compatible with long-term environmental sustainability. The climate crisis is already reshaping farming conditions across the world. Co-operatives can help farmers adapt through shared learning, collective planning and coordinated investment in climate resilience measures. Whether through renew-able energy projects, water management systems or more sustainable land use practices, collective ownership gives farmers the ability to think beyond short-term survival and towards long-term stewardship.
International comparisons make clear what can be achieved when governments take co-operative development seriously. In countries such as the Netherlands and France, agricultural co-operatives are deeply embedded within national food systems and account for a far greater share of agricultural turnover than in the UK. These countries have demonstrated that co-operatives are not a fringe alternative, but a mainstream and competitive business model, capable of delivering innovation, efficiency and economic growth. They benefit from stronger institutional support, better access to finance and closer integration between government, universities and the agricultural sector.
The UK could follow a similar path, but doing so will require political will. To take one example, public procurement could become a powerful tool for strengthening co-operative supply chains. Schools, hospitals and other public institutions should be encouraged to source more food from farmer-led co-operatives to support local economies while improving food security. Likewise, there is a strong argument for restoring targeted funding mechanisms that help producers invest in innovation and sustainability, particularly within horticulture, where supply chain vulnerabilities are becoming increasingly visible.
We also need farmers to understand the benefits of co-operatives and how they can be applied to their work. Agricultural colleges and universities will be key; the government should ensure that detail on the co-operative model and its application to agriculture are included in their syllabuses. There is also a strong case, alongside better development support, for an advisory service for agricultural co-operatives; this is already under consideration in Scotland. If we agree the co-operative model has a part to play in creating a stronger and more sustain-able farming future, we have to create the most enabling environment possible for it to be used in practice.
At its heart, though, this debate is about more than agriculture. It is ultimately about what kind of economy we want to build. Co-operatives represent a fundamentally different approach to economic organisation, one rooted in democratic ownership, long-term thinking and shared prosperity. In an era where many people feel disconnected from economic power and frustrated by growing inequality, co-operatives offer a model that puts people back at the centre of the economy. Agricultural co-operatives show how this principle can work in practice. They demonstrate that economic efficiency and democratic ownership are not incompatible, but mutually reinforcing. They prove that businesses can be both competitive and community-focused. Above all, they remind us that resilience is not built through concentration and centralisation alone, but through participation, collaboration and local control.
With crisis comes opportunity. One key critique of our time in government so far is our inability to respond to crises with sufficient boldness – in the face of economic shocks outside our control, we have been too ready to find safety in the status quo. But rarely do we have stronger public consent for change than in the face of a crisis. With food inflation set to rise once more this year, we have an opportunity to fundamentally rewire our economy – and create a system where unconventional and alternative models can thrive
