Opening her final NFU Conference as president, NFU president Minette Batters has urged all politcal parties to commit to making food security and sustainable food producution a priority, ahead of a likely General Election this year.
Speaking ahead of an appearance by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the conference, Mrs Batters highlighted how farmers and growers have, over the past few years, had to shoulder unsustainably high production costs, devastating flooding and crop losses, and uncertainty due to changing agricultural and trade policy, which have all contributed to frustration in farming communities.
She highlighted the solutions put forward in the NFU’s general election manifesto and the need for all political parties to commit to giving food security the same strategic priority as energy security, and sustainable food production the same ambition as legislated environmental targets.
Speaking to more than 1,500 farming, political and stakeholder delegates, Mrs Batters said: “This election will be critical to the future of farming and the food on our supermarket shelves, in our pubs, hotels, bars and restaurants.
“There is a reason why countries invest in food production. It is to mitigate risk and volatility for consumers and give farmers the confidence to keep producing food. But global events have challenged British agriculture, adding to the instability and volatility farmers and growers are facing, when what they really need is certainty.
“That’s why I ask today, which political party will have the right plan for British food? Which party will deliver the core standards that ensure food imports meet the same high values of animal welfare and environmental protection as those which British farmers are expected to meet?
“Which party will be the first to set a target for food production with a statutory underpinning? Because there is currently an imbalance between environment and food production in government policy. We must see changes this year to redress this before many more farms just simply disappear.”
She was critical of the Welsh Government’s approach to farming and environmental policy. “When the NFU of England and Wales said we can beat the government target on lowering emissions, it was by driving climate-smart agriculture policies and incentivising lower emissions, optimisation, innovation and precision farming. Focusing on producing more food with less impact,” she said.
“Yet the Welsh Government impact assessment for the Sustainable Farming Scheme predicts 122,200 fewer livestock, 5,500 job losses and £199 million loss to farm incomes. That is a red line and we will never support it. We will sit at the same table and find a solution.”
Mrs Batters highlighted the issues farmer face with extreme weather, with many parts of the country remain flooded.
“Some winter crops didn’t get planted and some of those that did have been washed away. In places, sugar beet and potatoes remain rotting in the ground. And many of our food producing floodplains have been used to store water to protect houses and businesses,” she said.
“We must pay farmers for storing flood water on their land. We must speed up planning for on farm reservoirs to store water for crop irrigation. Water security must underpin national food security.”
She stressed that the Government must come up with a better balance in policy between food production and environmental goods to prevent more farmers being forced out of business.
“Sustainable farming schemes must be based on science rather than hope and wishful thinking,” she said, adding that policymakers should be supporting farmers to produce more food with minimal impact on the environment.
Supply chain fairness
Mrs Batters also addressed the issue of supply chain fairness. “While there’s no doubt that the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has transformed the way disputes between supplier and retailer are conducted and resolved, there are still many of our members who will not raise a complaint for fear of being de-listed by supermarkets,” she said. “This is wrong. It is unfair and totally unacceptable.”
She told retailers they have a duty to ensure farmers get a fair price for what they pay.
“We need a Blueprint for Action. My suggestion is that the GCA survey of suppliers is used to create a new framework. This would embed retailers’ ethical responsibilities to farmers and growers within their business’s environmental sustainability goals and corporate and social responsibility.”
Consumer support
She outlined the results of a survey showing that the ‘British public is behind us every step of the way’. In 2023, farming and growing rose to second in the list of professions most valued by the public, behind only nursing. We are immensely grateful for this support – it makes all the difference.
A recent survey showed that 82% of British people want to see targets to increase homegrown food production, and 66% said that parties’ plans for farming will be one of the issues that affects who they vote for at the general election.
“It couldn’t be clearer – progressive policies on sustainable food production aren’t just important for farmers and growers, but anyone who eats food. And it matters at the ballot box,” Mrs Batters said.