NFU tells new Defra Secretary farming reform cannot wait

The NFU has urged the new Defra Secretary of State to accelerate action on water shortages, planning delays and farm investment.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw spoke with Dame Angela Eagle MP on 22 July, her first day in office.

He warned that progress through the Farming and Food Partnership Board was not moving quickly enough, with frustration growing particularly in the horticulture and poultry sectors.

The board brings government and industry together to tackle long-term pressures affecting food production and supply chains.

Dame Angela said she was also “impatient for change”.

She was appointed Defra Secretary on 20 July following Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first Cabinet reshuffle, succeeding Emma Reynolds.

The appointment makes her the tenth person to hold the role since July 2016.

Planning was raised as a continuing barrier to agricultural investment.

The NFU said delays affecting reservoirs, poultry units, glasshouses and other farm infrastructure were restricting business development.

Mr Bradshaw also highlighted prolonged dry weather, limited reservoir capacity and concerns over water abstraction rules.

He said farmers dependent on abstraction licences were being constrained by policies that had not kept pace with changing weather patterns and climate pressures.

Mr Bradshaw said the UK “can't be using an abstraction policy designed in the 1970s in 2027”.

Dame Angela agreed that water policy needed to reflect current climate challenges.

She previously served as Food Security Minister and had already worked regularly with the NFU on the Sustainable Farming Incentive, production costs, planning reform and supply-chain fairness.

Mr Bradshaw said they had developed a “good, constructive and straight-talking relationship”.

He said farmers and growers continued to face high costs, uncertainty over agri-environment schemes, prolonged dry conditions and barriers to investment.

Addressing those pressures, he argued, would be essential to maintaining a profitable and resilient farming sector capable of supplying food for the UK’s 70 million consumers.

Mr Bradshaw also called for agriculture to play a central role in the Government’s long-term growth strategy.

He said the NFU wanted ministers to build on the commitment that “food security is national security”.

The union argued that British agriculture should be recognised as a key partner in economic growth and in strengthening the resilience of the food supply chain.

The NFU said water security, planning reform and farm investment would remain priorities in its discussions with Dame Angela and the wider Defra ministerial team.