NFU: “I have never known such volatility in the food system”

Climate change and world-wide economic instability are shining a light on the need to protect and boost Britain’s production of home-grown food and instil resilience in the food system.

This year has already seen UK agri-food inflation rise to 19.2%, global volatility caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, and bouts of extremely dry and wet weather causing issues with food production worldwide.

With the farming sector under increasing pressure and the nation threatened by food insecurity, the NFU is warning the government that it needs to take domestic food production seriously and ensure food is given the same focus and political prioritisation as the environment.

NFU president Minette Batters said: “I have never known such volatility in the global food system.

“Climate change is wreaking havoc on food production across the world, with farmers in Southern Europe literally fighting fires while farmers here are despairing as they now must spend thousands of pounds to dry sodden grain.

“It is clear that our food supply chains need to be better prepared and more resilient to dealing with global shocks and the extremes of weather that are fast becoming the norm,” she stressed.

According to the Met Office, in 2023, UK had the driest February since 1993 and the hottest June on record, followed by unseasonal heavy rain that persisted through most of July and early August.

This means that farmers who have already been suffering the effects of inflation and high input costs are having to spend more money on drying the harvest, making this year’s arable production the most expensive in generations.

With other countries also experiencing significant economic and weather challenges, Ms Batters stressed the UK cannot afford to be over-reliant on imports and the government must take steps to increase resilience in the food chain.

“It starts and ends with our food security. We need to be able to produce more of our own food at home, regardless of what else is going on in the world.

“Today puts that into context as it marks the day of the year we would run out of food if we only had access to UK produce,” she added.

Ms Batters urged the Prime Minister to deliver on promises made at the UK Food Summit earlier this year and ensure the UK’s self-sufficiency does not drop below its current level of 60%.

“Now is the time to build ensure policies are in place to support the production of quality, climate friendly, home-grown food. This government has statutory targets for the environment and Ministers need now to give the same status to our food production,” she concluded.