The US and the UK must work together to ensure a secure and sustainable future for agriculture, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey is set to say at a conference in Washington DC later today (Wednesday, February 15).
She will be speaking to department of agriculture chiefs from 50 US states and four US territories at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Conference.
This speech will be the first time a foreign minister has addressed the NASDA conference.
Ahead of her speech, which will take place at 5:30p.m UK time (12:30p.m in Washington), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) provided a sample of her address.
“It is vitally important that we continue to stand together, in defence of the freedom, democracy, and common decency that our nations treasure so deeply,” she is expected to say.
“We must also continue to work together to forge a more secure, more sustainable future for agriculture.
“We must strengthen the resilience of our environment, our businesses, and our communities, and improve the prosperity and food security of every generation to come.”
Ukraine
In her speech, Coffey is also expected to pay tribute to the farmers in Ukraine.
“Amidst the turmoil of war, it is truly extraordinary that the farmers of Ukraine have managed to get so much of the 2022 harvest in,” she will say.
“At a time when Ukrainians themselves are suffering so much, the initiative to get grain from Ukraine, to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, is an act of global humanity at its very best.
“I was proud to send a contribution to support those efforts, on behalf of our government and our people, as I know the US has done as well.
“This forms part of the wider support that we are sending to Ukraine, and the work that the UK has led through the G7 to help identify stolen grain and frustrate Russia’s efforts to profit from that theft.”
During her US trip the secretary also met with US government officials, senators, and CEOs from agri-tech start-ups.
