The NFU has called on the Chancellor to invest in the UK’s food security, which this government has repeatedly stated is critical to national security, in the upcoming Spending Review.
With geopolitical tensions high, a rapidly changing trading environment and climate change disrupting food supply chains across the world, the NFU is highlighting how investment in homegrown food production today can help avoid food insecurity tomorrow.
It comes in the wake of the National Preparedness Commission’s warning that the UK’s food security is in a ‘precarious state’.
There are five key areas which the NFU believes will help the UK’s food and farming sector to grow, and is asking the Treasury to support in the Spending Review. These are:
- A UK-wide annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion
- A cross-government, fully funded biosecurity plan
- An end-to-end R&D budget for agri-tech
- A sufficient budget to invest in flooding management
- Review the NFU’s clawback proposal for Inheritance Tax
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The UK’s food and drink sector is an economic powerhouse. It’s the country’s biggest manufacturing sector, contributing £148 billion to the national economy and supporting more than 4 million jobs. Farm businesses are its foundation.
“Make no mistake, global instability and a more unpredictable climate is making homegrown food production harder, while also putting pressure on food supply chains around the world.
“We simply must invest in food production to safeguard the future of our food. Failure to do this will lead to reduced food production at home, forcing a reliance on imports which, as an island nation amidst serious global volatility, is not a smart move.
“We know the Treasury is having to make difficult decisions, but this is not money for money’s sake. Investment in homegrown food production now will help secure UK food security in the future. It will secure jobs and the economic contribution of the sector, as well as kickstart rural economic growth by breaking down barriers to opportunity for rural communities.
“The government has been talking about a new deal for farmers. A Spending Review that supports a growing, resilient, sustainable, biosecure and technologically advanced farming sector is the lynchpin to that new deal.”
