De-risking the farming transition – what can we do?

Farmers are under immense pressure and transitioning farming practices can feel daunting – and risky – in those first few years. For many farmers, this can be enough to stop them taking that leap. How could collective insurance and green financing in its many forms help de-risk and unlock that transition? How can mindset change and coaching also help support the transition?

Our three speakers come from academia, banking, and farming: They will share their latest research and business experience, including the viability of collective landscape-scale insurance, banking products, and what they've learnt from coaching farmers towards more sustainable systems.

Our speakers will be delving into all this for us.

About Zainab:

Zainab Oyetunde-Usman is AFN Year 3 Champion for Carbon Financing and a Research Social Scientist at Rothamsted Research Net Zero and Resilient Farming Department. She is a trained agricultural economist with experience in applying behavioural approaches to designing and fostering mechanisms to incentivise adoption of net zero innovations. She is involved in interdisciplinary research engagement co-developing pathways to achieving net-zero with stakeholders across the UK agri-food systems. Zainab has over time engaged with the AFN Network+ as an ECR member and a scoping study project lead.

About Carolien:

Carolien Samson is the Head of Sustainable Banking at Oxbury Bank which encompasses all elements of sustainability both internal and external for the Bank. Carolien has extensive experience in agricultural finance spending more than two decades in both commercial banking and development finance institutions in South Africa in roles ranging from policy and product development to commodity trading. At Oxbury, she was responsible for the the consolidated 2023 Natural Capital report which was the first combined TCFD and TNFD disclosure to be published by a UK head-quartered bank and was instrumental in the launch of the Oxbury Transition Facility in 2025 to provide working capital for farmers changing practices to improve resilience.

About Doug:

Doug Wanstall is Head of Projects at Beyond Zero and a mixed farmer based in Kent. He is an innovative farmer, passionate about the reversal of climate change and biodiversity collapse. Doug led the development of the UK Carbon Code of Conduct which has been established as a central set of standards taking a holistic approach to drive investment into nature-based solutions. Following his Nuffield Scholarship in 2016, and based upon data, science and experience on his own farm, Doug provides consultancy in transitioning businesses towards regenerative agriculture and giving the strategic advice, the skills, the tools and the implementation techniques to ensure success.

About this webinar series

This webinar is part of a monthly series run by AFN Network+ which explores net zero in the UK agri-food system with leading movers and shakers. Expect deep and varied insight from across the sector, including farmers, scientists, policy analysts, community leaders, retailers, politicians, businesses and health professionals. The series is organised by Jez Fredenburgh, our Knowledge Exchange Fellow, with oversight from Prof Neil Ward, AFN Co-lead. Jez and Neil are based in the School of Environmental Sciences, and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, at the University of East Anglia.