The announcement by the Prime Minister shows that the government is taking agriculture seriously, but there is still much that can be done, according to the National Farmers' Union.
Plans to boost productivity and grow food and farming exports by more than £7 billion were announced by the Prime Minister, as he visited the Royal Welsh Show in Powys.
David Cameron outlined how, under existing inspection regimes, a tangle of seven regulators carry out more than 125,000 farm inspections a year to England’s 250,000 farms – taking up valuable time and limiting the potential of the farming industry to grow further.
He said that streamlining the process, and making better use of the technology and data, will radically reduce the number of inspections.
And by summer 2016, farmers will only have to deal with one Single Farm Inspection Taskforce which will combine farm visits with mandatory checks. It will also use the latest technology to streamline the approach to inspections — for example using satellite data to analyse different crop types in fields.
NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “Despite current short-term challenges the British farming sector has strong ambitions to make the most of significant opportunities to grow the industry.
“The NFU welcomes the prospect of simplification of the regulatory regime which should remove barriers to growth and encourage investment. At a time when commodity prices have plummeted, delivering reduced administration hurdles must also equate to reduced costs for farm businesses.
“Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister shows that the Government is taking this issue seriously, but there is still much that can be done, as highlighted in the NFU’s manifesto.
“We need to create more opportunities to get more great British products into new domestic and global markets. The NFU shares the Government’s ambition to develop a 25-year plan and develop a profitable, productive and sustainable food and farming sector with good access to research, science and technology.”
