Farming Minister George Eustice MP visited the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing in Holbeach on Thursday 15th January to launch the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) new Food Board. The LEP also unveiled its Agri-Food Plan for 2014-2020 which aims to help double the economic value of the food industry in Greater Lincolnshire by 2030.
“Greater Lincolnshire is the food heartland of the UK but the agri-food sector is often overlooked when it comes to prioritising support for business,” said farmer Mark Tinsley. “Without our agri-food sector and all the people in it, this region would be in a much worse economic state and the country would have to import far more food than it already does. That’s why the Greater Lincolnshire LEP has made agri-food one of its priority sectors, and we’re launching our Agri-Food Plan this week to set out how we can help our food processing and farming businesses to grow even further.”
The Food Board will support the plan’s objectives by informing and advising the LEP on issues and challenges which face the sector such as water management, planning, transport infrastructure, the translation of research to industry or skills requirements.
George Eustice commented, “The food and farming sector is incredibly important to this country and that’s why it’s at the heart of our long-term economic plan. We want to support this growth and see the UK food and farming industry become the best in the world – exciting, dynamic and at the forefront of technology and innovation.”