Last week, the Prime Minister hosted the second UK Farm to Fork Summit, showing our continued commitment to the farming and food sectors which bring over £120 billion to the economy every year. We are the first Government to host a summit of this kind, which brings together farmers, food producers, supermarkets, investors and scientists.
The summit marked the launch of the Government’s plans to boost domestic food production and improve food security. The plan, which builds on the Conservative Government’s strong measures of support for British farmers, includes introducing the first-ever UK Food Security Index, which will allow the Government to monitor in-year shocks across the UK and support the sector to grow more food.
The Government will also ensure that the domestic farming sector has the labour it needs, and the funding to support greater automation. This includes extending the seasonal visa route for five years and agreeing a taper for this period with industry, supporting the transition away from migrant workers with a planned £50 million package on packhouse automation funding.
The Conservative Government has additionally published the Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector – introducing plans that aim to build the resilience of the UK’s fresh produce sector to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on imports.
Further measures in the plan include cutting 60 pieces of redundant Retained EU Law red tape and unlocking the opportunities of precision breeding with £15 million invested into Genetic Improvement Networks.
The Conservative Government is also supporting farmers to get a fair price for their products, by announcing the next steps in the supply chain reviews for eggs, fresh produce and pigs. In all three sectors, the Government will introduce legislation to enhance fairness and transparency.
Going further, the Government will be providing grants of between £500 and £25,000 to farmers affected by exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk. It is also putting in place flexibility through temporary adjustments to agreements in Sustainable Farming Incentives (SFI)and Countryside Stewardship so farmers who have been unable to carry out requirements do not miss out on income in the transition from the EU Basic Payment Scheme to SFI.
The Conservative Government is sticking to its plan to support British farmers and boost domestic food production, ensuring domestic food security for generations to come. Labour would take us back to square one with the Welsh Labour Government proposing to force all farmers to stop farming on up to 20 per cent of their land, which if replicated under Labour in England would force more than 20,000 farms out of business.