The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said that the UK government must build on the announcements made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Farm to Fork Summit.
The summit, which took place at 10 Downing Street yesterday (Tuesday, May 16), saw senior representatives in the UK’s farming, horticulture, and agri-food sectors come together to discuss the issues and solutions for the sector.
Sunak said international trade is “critical” to food security and stopping a repeat of food shortages experienced earlier this year, and announced six principles to ensure British farming is at the heart of British trade, as well as a £2 million in Britain’s presence at major trade shows; five additional agri-food and drink attaches; and a £1 million programme to support the dairy sector in specific to export.
Other government announcements at the summit included confirming the number of seasonal workers for the horticulture sector this year as well as reviews, begining in the autumn, into the horticulture and egg sector, following the shortages experiences in UK supermarkets earlier this year.
Building on Farm to Fork announcements
President of the NFU, Minette Batters, said she was “absolutely delighted” that Sunak delivered on his commitment to host the summit, and said his announcements show “a recognition and understanding” of the importance of British farming.
However, Batters said the UK government must now “build on these announcements” to demonstrate and prove its commitment to UK farmers and farming businesses beyond international trade.
“We are calling for a set of core agri-food import standards for trade,” she said.
“Whilst it is pleasing government is looking to maintain self-sufficiency at 60%, we believe there’s an opportunity to produce much more of our own food here. We can and should be more ambitious and look to move beyond this target.
“Vitally, the Farm to Fork Summit should become an annual event, as our food supply is part of the UK’s national infrastructure and will ensure that food security never drops down the political agenda, across all parties, again.”
‘Momentum must not be lost’
The Scottish branch of the NFU, NFU Scotland, also commended Sunak on the hosting of the Farm to Fork Summit, but said that its “momentum must not be lost” and that progress must be regularly reviewed.
NFU Scotland’s president, Martin Kennedy, said the summit must be viewed by the UK government as “the start of an annual process that recognises the importance of domestic food production”.
He also said that the event should prompt the government to put robust measures in place to ensure the whole food supply chain takes positive steps to “address the significant shortfalls that we currently see around the nation’s food security”.
“The event brought a sharp focus on the importance of domestic production and the need for change,” he said.
“All in the room needed to appreciate that recent events, including empty supermarket shelves, means that food can no longer be produced for prices that are below the cost of production.
“The solution is clear. If you’re looking to secure domestic food production, it starts by supporting the primary producer in the face of rising input costs and volatile output prices, poorly negotiated trade agreements and supply chain inequities.”
Discussing the challenges
Kennedy said the summit presented representatives in the UK’s farming, horticulture and agri-food sectors with the chance to raise the “huge challenges” they continue to face.
He said farmers still need more proof of long-term commitment from the UK government.
“A commitment that the 45,000 seasonal worker visas available this season could be extended is welcome, but our growers need long-term commitment from the UK government to this scheme to allow them to plan ahead,” he said.
“It also remains hugely disappointing that our farmers and growers will not benefit from the highest levels of relief on energy despite the huge costs now associated with rearing, growing and storing produce.
“That decision needs to be reversed or farmers and growers will simply cut production to limit losses and our food security will deteriorate, undermining the amount of good work today’s summit achieved.”
