A Sussex farmer met MPs in Westminster yesterday to highlight the need for a greater share of funding to help preserve farmland.

Farmers from across England, including farmer Camilla Puzey from Saddlescombe Farm near Brighton, took the fight to politicians for more money to help threatened species, landscapes and heritage features.

Within weeks Owen Paterson MP – the Environment Secretary – will have to finalise his budget and priorities for the future of the countryside.

A key decision the Secretary of State has to make is howmuch funding to dedicate to so-called agri-environment schemes, which fund farmers to manage their businesses in wildlife and environmentally- friendly ways.

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Mrs Puzey said: “We believe strongly that every farm and farmer is unique. At Saddlescombe Farm, we want to do everything possible to protect and enhance the natural environment around our traditional sheep, beef and arable business, whilst also involving the local community.

“To achieve these aims, however, we need some financial assistance. For example, there are areas on the farm where invasive scrub needs to be cleared to help restore the chalk grasslands which provide a habitat for rare wildflowers and insects.

“The farm is also home to farmland birds like the corn bunting, which needs a managed habitat within a working and productive countryside.

“Here at Saddlescombe, the key to helping wildlife is by focusing on habitat creation and management, and with financial help we can really get to work.”

Under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), he has the power to transfer up to 15% of direct subsidies to these and other rural development schemes, and farmers attending today’s event called for the maximum transfer.

Figures released last week by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) revealed that the number of birds reliant on farmland has halved since 1970.

Martin Harper is the RSPB’s conservation director.

He said: “Three-quarters of England is farmed, and that means farmers have a huge responsibility to look after a great proportion of our wildlife, landscapes and cultural heritage.

“Over the last two decades, an increasing number of farmers have embraced the challenge and taken the step to enter agri-environment schemes, working hard to get results on the ground. I’m by GARETH DAVIES gareth.davies@theargus.co.uk delighted we are working alongside farmers today to try and secure a better deal for these schemes in the future.”

As well as addressing wildlife declines, agri-environment schemes can also help promote more sustainable farming and deliver wider public benefits, such as tourism and jobs Patrick Begg, Rural Enterprise Director at the National Trust, remarked: “Farming needs to be more in tune with the natural characteristics of the land and rural economies in which it operates, recognising both its dependence on environmental resilience and sustainable land management, as well as the multiplier effect it can have both culturally and economically.”

Yesterday’s lobby of Parliament included 28 farmers from various parts of England, working alongside the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and Conservation Grade.

Paul Wilkinson of the Wildlife Trust said: “Agri-environment schemes play a crucial role in shaping the landscapes that underpin rural economies and communities.

We believe the public appreciate that and we hope that the Government will therefore put the public funding in place to support it.”