Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a package of support to protect British farming as he told the NFU Conference that the Government is focused on food security.
Addressing 1,500 delegates in Birmingham, Mr Sunak made a number of announcements intended to show farmers he ‘has their backs’ in election year.
He announced that the Government will deliver on its pledge to maintain the farming budget for England at £2.4 billion per year in the current parliamentary term, but refused to commit to additional funding for farming after the election, in response to questioning from NFU Minetter Batters, insisiting he wasn’t going to get into mnifesto plegges, a line use a few times.
He said the government will open the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427m, including an ‘unprecedented package’ of funding for technology and productivity schemes, although it is unclear how much of this is new money.
He announced around £220 million will be injected into the future-focused technology and productivity schemes to ensure farmers can access new equipment, including kit which increases automation to reduce reliance on overseas workers. It will also fund cost-saving energy measures, such as rooftop solar, to safeguard land for food production. There will also be funding to increase support for processing, packing and retailing on farms.
The funding doubles investment in productivity schemes, growing the grant offer from £91 million last year to £220 million next year to keep up with demand for the scheme from farmers.
He also announced tha, in the spring, the Government will double the management payments for the sustainable farming incentive scheme, putting up to an extra £1000 in farmers’ pockets.
More than 11,000 farmers already in the schemes will be eligible for the payments under the scheme, which will be further extended in July, opening up to the Countryside Stewardship mid-tier, ensuring there is a single front door to make the application process even easier.
Supply chain fairness
Mr Sunak also announced new regulations aimed at ensuring fairness in the dairy supply chain are set to be laid in Parliament for the dairy sector on Wednesday, ensuring farmers have ‘reasonable and transparent contracts’. Similar regulations for the pig sector will come later this year, with the egg sector expected to follow.
A new supply chain fairness review of the poultry sector is also set to be launched, and DEFRA are expected to consult stakeholders on whether the sheep and beef sectors should follow.
The Prime Minister told the conference that the Government will publish an annual Food Security Index at the next Farm to Fork Summit this spring. The UK-wide index will capture and present the key data needed to monitor how we are maintaining our current levels of food security across the country and is expected to be UK-wide.
The Prime Minister announced that the Farm to Fork summit, the first of which was hosted last year, will become an annual tradition, ensuring Westminster continues to listen to the concerns of the farming community directly for years to come.
During a question and answer session, chaired by Mrs Batters, he also reitered his desire to ensure future trade deals do not undermine farmers by allowing imports of imports produced to lower standards than permitted in the UK. The Yorkshire MP cited the experience of neighbouring pig farmers who had been damaged by cheap imports following the 1999 UK sow stall ban, stressing that he does not want to see a repeat under future trade deals.
The Prime Minister also announce that the Government will cut bureaucratic red tape around permitted development rights so farmers can easily develop buildings and diversify earnings through farm shops, commercial space and sporting venues.
Innovation
The Prime Minister said farmers were at the forefront of innovation – from gene editing to boost resilience to disease, to automation to help harvest crops.
“And while thanks to you we enjoy good quality food all year-round global events – including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have put food security back at the top of the agenda. We’ll never take our food security for granted. We’ve got a plan to support British farming – and we’re going further again today,” he said.
“I know how important my neighbours – our farmers – truly are. You help to employ millions, add billions to our economy, shape the landscape, but most of all, you produce the food we need – food that is some of the best and highest quality anywhere in the world.
During the Q&A session, he set his admiration for how farmers work and their environmental contribution, but raised eyebrows when he said: “I know you don’t do it for the money – you do it for the love.”