In the face of global turmoil, climate change, and rapidly rising
world populations, the NFU is today warning that the clock is
ticking for government to match warm words with actions to ensure
British farmers and growers can continue to play their part in
feeding and fuelling a changing and challenging world.
Delivering the opening address at NFU Conference, NFU President
Minette Batters will lay out the three cornerstones needed to
ensure a prosperous food and farming sector; one that delivers a
secure, safe and affordable supply of British food, for both home
markets and overseas, and recognises that farmers are the
nation’s working conservationists in protecting and
enhancing the environment.
“There are three key lessons we can take from this extraordinary
year,” she will say. “As the global population continues to rise,
and parts of the planet become less suited to producing the food
we eat, we have an opportunity, and a duty, to get the best out
of our maritime climate. Secondly, in the face of climate change,
we should be unwavering in our commitment to achieving net zero
and contributing to our energy security through on-farm
renewables generation. And thirdly, we should never take our food
security for granted.
“But the fact remains, volatility, uncertainty and instability
are the greatest risks to farm businesses in England and Wales
today. Critically, those consequences will be felt far beyond
farming, they will be felt across the natural environment, and in
struggling households across the country.
“Labour shortages and soaring energy prices are hitting the
poultry industry, already reeling from avian influenza, as well
as horticultural businesses and pig farms. Meanwhile, other
sectors are facing an uncertain future as direct payments are
phased out against a backdrop of huge cost inflation, with
agricultural inputs having risen almost 50% since 2019. And the
impact of this? UK egg production has fallen to its lowest
level in nine years. In 2022, UK egg packers packed almost a
billion fewer eggs than they did in 2019.
“This was also the year that the potential impact of climate
change really hit home. The extraordinary temperatures we
experienced in July topped the previous record by almost a degree
and a half. While many parts of the country have experienced huge
amounts of rainfall recently, impacting farming operations over
autumn and winter, some counties still remain in official drought
status.
“Despite all this, NFU members and the farmers and growers of
Britain continued to bring in the harvest, to produce the
nation’s food and to keep the country fed through tough times. We
have seen progress; with the publication of the prospectus for
the new Environmental Land Management Schemes; with increases to
the Seasonal Agricultural Workers schemes; and in securing the
establishment of the Trade and Agriculture Commission, leading to
the Food and Drink Export Council and the placement of eight new
agriculture attachés to sell British food overseas.
“More often than not – it has been incredibly hard getting
government to back up its rhetoric with concrete actions. The
time is nearly up for government to demonstrate its commitment to
food and farming in our great country, not just by saying they
support us, but by showing us they do. I won’t let the opposition
off the hook either, I believe the rural vote will be crucial in
the next election.
“There are three cornerstones on which a prosperous farming
sector must be built and which any government should use to
underpin its farming policy. They are boosting productivity,
protecting the environment and managing volatility.
“But the clock is ticking. It’s ticking for those farmers and
growers facing costs of production higher than the returns they
get for their produce. It’s ticking for the country, as inflation
remains stubbornly high, and the affordability and availability
of food come under strain. It’s ticking for our planet, as
climate change necessitates urgent, concerted action to reduce
emissions and protect our environment. And it’s ticking for
government – to start putting meaningful, tangible and effective
meat on the bones of the commitments it has made. Commitments to
promote domestic food production, to properly incentivise
sustainable and climate friendly farming, to put farmers and
growers at the heart of our trade policy, and to guarantee our
food security. It really is time to back British farmers and back
British food.”
