Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a package of industry support measures, as leading figures from across the food and farming industry gathered at Downing for the second Farm to Fork Summit.
The package includes a new Endemics Disease Scheme with over £72m of funding and an Infrastructure Grant for Laying Hens with over £20m of funding as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
The Endemics Disease Scheme will help farmers control Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in pigs, eradicate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in cattle, and tackle a range of different health conditions in sheep.
Mr Sunak also announced £3 million in support for new and mobile abattoirs through the Farming Investment Fund. This builds on the Small Abattoir Fund which opened last year to boost the sustainability and efficiency of red meat and poultry smaller abattoirs across England.
The Goverment said it would introduce regulations to improve fairness in the pig sector ‘as soon as possible’, bringig stability and security to the pig supply chain through written contracts. It confirmed that Richard Thompson has been appointed as the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, who will oversee the enforcement of our Fair Dealing regulations, and announced further action to ensure fairness across the food supply chain, committing to delivering regulations to improve fairness in the fresh produce and egg sectors.
Downing Street said the package will support domestic food production, boost innovation in the sector supporting it to reach its economic potential, and recruit the next generation of farming and food leaders.
The summit saw the publication of the first draft Food Security Index, setting out key data and trends to allow government and industry to safeguard the UK’s food security, which the Government said would allow it to monitor short-term trends across the UK.
Other measures included a new Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, setting out how industry and government can work together to increase domestic production and drive investment into the sector.
The Government has set out how it will provide further support for farmers affected by the wet weather. Building on our commitment to extend the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers who have been flooded, temporary adjustments will be made for farmers and land managers where the wet weather has led to difficulties carrying out the requirements of our Environmental Land Management Schemes.
There will also be £75 million to support internal drainage boards (IDBs) to accelerate recovery from the winter 2023-24 storms and provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets that benefit and support resilience for farms and rural communities.
It began with a reception in the Downing Street garden showcasing the best of British food, during which Mr Sunak delivered a speech outlining Government support for the industry, including a draft Food Security Index, setting out key data and trends to allow government and industry to safeguard the UK’s food security.
The attendees then moved into breakout sessions on key industry topics, before a concluding plenary summing up session.
Border controls
Among the guests, NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson highlighted the need for properly funded border controls to protect the country from notifiable diseases like African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.
“The theme of my workshop was unlocking growth potential. I said that if you talk to our pig farmer members about looking ahead and the need for certainty to invest, their biggest concern is notifiable disease – mainly African swine fever – and an incursion into this country via illegally imported contaminated pigmeat.
“I pointed out that it is not just pigmeat – 54 sheep carcasses were seized at Dover last weekend, and there is also the very real threat of other devastating diseases such as foot-and-mouth. An outbreak could wipe out our livestock sector so there won’t be any opportunity to expand economic growth.”
Defra has come in for heavy criticism within the industry over its decision to cut funding to the Dover Port Health Authority to carry out illegal meat checks and Mrs Wilson used the platform to call for more resources to be provided at UK points of entry.
“It is not just ports – there is also evidence of whole carcases coming in via airports as well,” she said. “I said we would also like a complete ban on all non-commercial imports, rather than the current 2kg threshold, as the risk is just too high.”
Other topics discussed during the sessions included the need for greater access to labour at all points in the supply chain – this was identified as a major barrier to some people being able to continue in the sector. Planning constraints were identified as another big barrier to long-term investment.
The question over whether retailers will be prepared to cover the extra costs of their new sustainability commitments, such as the move towards more sustainable soya supply chains next year, was also brought up.
Food security
Defra Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Food security is vital to our national security, which is why today’s summit is so important, bringing together government and key representatives from the farming and food sector at Downing Street.
“We will continue to invest in and support farmers to produce the best of British food to strengthen our food security, championing innovation in the sector.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “It was good to return to Number 10 today to see and hear the Prime Minister champion British food production, putting it at the top of the national political agenda. Food security is national security.
“Many of today’s announcements are extremely welcome, particularly those long-term strategic ambitions around the launch of a UK Food Security Index and measures to boost the production of more British fruit and vegetables.”