The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said it will showcase why British food and farming needs to be a priority for all political parties at this year’s party conferences.
The union said it is “more important than ever” for political parties to back British farming ahead of the next general election.
The NFU said it will once again have a presence at both the Conservative Party conference (today, October 2) in Manchester and the Labour Party conference (October 9) in Liverpool.
The union said its interactive stand at the conferences will include:
- A gator utility vehicle;
- A glasshouse to demonstrate the “importance of growth” in the horticulture sector;
- A “typical” British landscape featuring sheep, trees, hedges and wildflower borders to “reflect the work farmers do to care for the environment”.
NFU president Minette Batters said: “It’s more important than ever for political parties to back British food and farming.
“The nation’s food security has rarely been more prominent than in the past few years, and with the challenges we’ve faced it’s clear that we need to reassess how we value food and farming.
“Let’s not forget, this is a sector which forms the backbone of our rural communities, our much-loved countryside and our food and drink industry, which is worth more than £100 billion to the national economy and employs four million people.”
Batters said party conferences are a chance for the NFU to showcase all that British farming delivers, but also for MPs, peers, councillors and party members to show their support for a sector which “gives so much to the nation”.
“What we do is important to every single person who eats food,” she said.
“With a general election fast approaching, all parties need to carefully consider the long-term future of farming and how they will help boost homegrown food production. Because British food cannot fail.”
The NFU said the party conferences come against the backdrop of years of uncertainty in the farming sector, as soaring production costs, global market instability caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, extreme bouts of weather and delays to new farm payments have all put pressure on homegrown food production.
NFU policies
The NFU will ask the political parties to include certain policies in their upcoming manifestos.
These policies include:
- Establish a new food security index and target, including a statutory duty to monitor and report on domestic food production levels annually;
- Clear commitment to a budget that underpins sustainable domestic food production, delivers for the environment and supports all land tenures;
- A smooth and seamless transition to new support schemes that are open to all farmers and growers, less bureaucratic and ensure profitable long-term food-producing businesses;
- Ensure every new policy or regulation includes a ‘food impact assessment test’;
- Produce an enhanced policy-focused government food security report annually that looks beyond food supply and supermarket shelves to assess the short-, medium- and long-term viability of the food sector;
- Increase the powers and resource of the Groceries Code Adjudicator and maintain a commitment to keep it independent of the Competition and Markets Authority;
- Identify opportunities to increase our market share of foods we can produce sustainably, including a commitment to source 50% of food into the public sector from British farms;
- Hold an annual food summit at No.10 to ensure food security remains high on the political agenda;
- Make changes to the planning system to ensure permitted development for infrastructure including glasshouses, reservoirs and slurry stores for the purposes of growing and processing fruit, vegetables, crops and livestock;
- Boost a range of incentives to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, by driving productivity, improving energy efficiency, and reducing the impact of inputs like feed, fertiliser and fuel, while producing more climate-friendly food and increasing green energy use;
- Reward for farmers for maintaining, protecting and enhancing our natural environment so everyone can experience the mental health benefits of access to our beautiful countryside;
- Responsible management of public access to the countryside so it can be enjoyed by everyone while recognising that much of it is an active working environment.
