Government must invest to close food gap, says NFU

Consistent and long-term investment allowances, and better taxation tools are just some of the key areas the NFU is urging the Chancellor of the Exchequer to address in next week’s 2014 Budget – in a bid to help agriculture invest, grow and thrive.

The NFU has written to MP George Osborne highlighting the need for Government to encourage farmers and growers’ to invest, deal with volatile weather and help put more British food on British plates.

The letter, from new NFU President Meurig Raymond, also wants Government to ensure its national infrastructure plan should do more to promote the rural economy by reducing flood risk and faster rollout of high speed broadband. Mr Raymond also highlighted farms threatened by the High Speed 2 project.

“As George Eustice emphasised at the NFU Conference, there are huge opportunities for agriculture to grow, both home and abroad, but we need the right systems in place to give the industry confidence to invest and deal with increasingly volatile weather when it happens,” said Mr Raymond.

“The rural economy is worth £211billion a year, driving local growth and contributes significantly to the wider economy which is why we would urge the Government to consider our recommendations to boost investment in agriculture and close the growing gap between domestic production and consumption.”