First steps towards government to use its own purchasing power to buy British food. Government to consider new reforms to speed up the planning process on farms to boost food production.
Speaking to farmers and landowners at the Oxford Farming Conference, Steve Reed set out how the government will work with farmers to deliver a profitable farming sector and unlock rural growth. This will include a cast iron commitment to food security while introducing reforms to help farmers diversify their income streams to support them during poor harvests.
As part of the Plan for Change, the secretary of state announced a series of reforms, delivering on the government’s new deal for farmers including:
- Backing British produce: For the first time ever, the Government will monitor food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This is a significant first step to deliver on a manifesto pledge and make it easier for British farmers to win a share of the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts.
- Using planning reforms to support food production: Ensuring our reforms make it quicker for farmers to build the buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need on their farms to boost food production.
- Diversifying income streams: Helping farmers make additional money from selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by accelerating connections to the grid and support them during difficult harvests and supply shocks.
- A fair supply chain: Boosting profitability through fair competition across the supply chain. New rules for the pig sector will come this spring, ensuring contracts clearly set out expectations and changes can only be made if agreed by all parties. Similar regulations for eggs and fresh produce sectors will follow with the government ready to intervene with other sectors if needed.
- Protecting farmers in trade deals: The government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals.
Steve Reed, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs set out his vision for the future of farming in three parts – food production, business resilience and nature restoration, “the primary purpose of farming has – and always will be – to produce the food that feeds the nation. Too many policymakers in Whitehall lose sight of that fact. This government is putting food production firmly back on the agenda.”
“We will work in partnership to achieve our vision for the farming sector. First, a sector whose primary purpose is food production. Secondly, a sector where farmers can access diverse income streams to make a fair profit and ensure their business remains viable in times of challenge. And thirdly, a sector which supports farmers to restore nature – the foundations of sustainable food production. It is only through pursuing all three that we will achieve long-term food security.”
This government will work in partnership with the food and farming sectors to deliver the change needed starting now. The recently announced 25-year farming roadmap will act as the blueprint to get there.
The roadmap, which will be published later this year, will be the most forward-looking plan for farming in our country’s history and involve government and farmers working together to identify solutions to challenges and ensure government support is in place to enable farmers to take the actions that will let their businesses succeed.
These announcements come alongside the launch of the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund, which will provide grant funding for farmer-led trials of innovative technology and techniques that drive sustainable food production, tackle climate change impacts, and protect nature.
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