Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of anaerobic digestion to secure rural economic growth.

British farmers are world-leaders and know their own land best - carefully planning their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation.

We will continue to support farmers, so they can make the right decisions for them and the productivity of their land.

The demand for UK produced crops is subject to global market prices and supply. Crop varieties grown in the UK can be of a specification for food, feed and bioenergy standards, so that there is in-built flexibility for farmers to ensure an end-use market for their product.

The development of anaerobic digestion plants creates jobs and economic growth. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s most recent analysis shows that over two thirds of existing biomethane anaerobic digestion plants are located in rural areas.

Biomethane production via anaerobic digestion is currently supported by the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS). It is estimated that when taking into account both direct and indirect jobs, the GGSS could support up to 1,600 jobs per annum during the construction phase of plants, and up to 1,000 jobs during the lifetime of the plants (assumed to be 20 years).