UK not self-sufficient in food production as government report encourages action

Farmers have said they are 'pleased' that the government has recognised the strong desire to secure the long-term future of food production in the UK.

The comments come following the publication of the Government’s response to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report “Food security: demand, consumption and waste”.

"Food and farming are hugely important to the UK economy, worth more than £100bn a year and employing approximately 1 in 8 people," the government said.

"We are working with farmers, manufacturers and retailers to ensure the UK has the right climate to attract increased inward investment and to enable UK producers to grow and compete.

In February this year, an NFU report stated that at current rates, just 53 per cent of the nation’s food needs will be produced from home farms in the next 25 years, with potential for serious implications for the British economy, food security and employment.

With the population expected to boom over the coming decades, there will be around 13 million extra mouths in the UK by the time the country’s self-sufficiency in home-grown food is predicted to hit dwindling new lows. Currently, the figure stands at 60 per cent – following a 30-year downward spiral. The NFU says action is needed now, and from successive governments, to reverse this current negative trend.

The report, revealed on the opening day of the NFU Conference in Birmingham, comes at a time when the public is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of British food and farming. New YouGov figures show that 85 per cent of the population want to see supermarkets selling more food from British farms – an increase from 79 per cent in 2014.

NFU head of policy Andrea Graham said: “With the UK currently only producing 60 per cent of the nation’s food needs, this is a timely, welcome and sensible response from the Government, which clearly recognises that more must be done to reverse this trend.

“We are pleased that it has recognised the need to allow our industry to take advantage of emerging technologies to extend the British growing season for horticulture; the importance of promoting our world class products to consumers; and that consumers must be given better labelling so they can make more informed decisions about what they buy, especially when they have told us they want more British food on their plates. False, misleading and confusing labels simply serve to undermine consumer confidence. We are also supportive of the Government’s work towards increasing exports to China with a memorandum of understanding and we look forward to this export market opening up in the near future.

“We know that 77 per cent of people think Government should focus more on creating policies that help UK farmers to increase the amount of food Britain produces. That’s why the NFU has recently published its own report calling for the Government to set a long-term ambition for the sector’s growth with policies aligned to send the right business signals to the UK’s farmers in times as challenging as now, as well as in the future. “

East Anglia grower, Patrick Bastow, produces lambs lettuce and other baby leaf salad leaves throughout the year undercover. Rainwater is captured and specialist machinery harvests the crop to ensure efficiency is maximised.

Other farmers are experimenting with crops that have traditionally been imported. Essex farmer, Peter Thompson, now grows a commercial crop of figs, and has successfully trialled Asian herbs such as lemongrass on his farm. By experimenting he has diversified his enterprise and managed to produce a more unusual crop for the British public.

“From travelling across the country, I see fantastic farms on a daily basis that are efficient and productive businesses ready to produce more.

“Our aim is to ensure the country – consumers, politicians, retailers and the wider food industry - is backing British farming, and within this, a solid plan for agricultural growth to ensure the current self-sufficiency trend is reversed and long-term food security is supported,” said Meurig.

Peter Thompson is a third-generation fruit and vegetable grower on the Tendring Peninsula near Harwich who is pursuing several innovative projects to transform the farming business, with new crops and a reduced environmental impact. His business illustrates the potential of the wider farming industry to produce more food given the right signals.