Group aims to promote the interests of innovation in farming
Former science minister George Freeman has been named as the new chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture.
Freeman, the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, was named chair on 11 November at a meeting in Westminster, which heard leading agri-food organisations set out their priorities for agricultural research and innovation to deliver for food security, nature and the climate.
Charlie Dewhirst, recently elected MP for Bridlington & The Wolds and a former policy adviser at the National Pig Association, was also confirmed as a new vice-chair of the group. Lord Grantchester, a dairy farmer and former shadow Efra minister, and veterinarian Professor Lord Trees also continue as vice-chairs.
“I was delighted to accept the invitation to return as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, a position I held as a newly elected MP in 2010 until being appointed first UK minister for life science in 2014 to lead the UK Life Science Industrial Strategy,” said Freeman.
“This APPG is one of the more active and influential All-Party Groups in Parliament, bringing together cross-party MPs and peers supported by industry and research expertise across the sector. APPGSTA was instrumental in helping me launch the original Agri-Tech Strategy a decade ago and more recently the group led calls for more enabling and science-based regulation of gene editing in agriculture, which resulted in the introduction of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.
“I am passionate about innovation in agriculture, because a vibrant agri-tech sector is key to UK and global food security, climate mitigation and net zero. It should be a major sector of economic growth and investment, providing solutions to so many of the global challenges we face.”
Freeman said a key priority for the group will be to make agri-science relevant to the new intake of Parliamentarians, and to make the connection between agri-tech innovation and the concerns of MPs’ constituents, from ensuring food security and affordability for future generations to mitigating and tackling climate change, safeguarding clean water supplies, improving health and nutrition, and leaving more room for nature.
He also outlined plans for a Parliamentary showcase of agri-tech innovation in the new year to provide an opportunity for British innovators in digital agriculture, robotics, advanced crop and livestock breeding, vertical farming, AI and automation to explain how UK-led advances offer the potential to drive significant improvements in the productivity, end-use quality, resource-use efficiency and environmental sustainability of British farming.
“As a group, we are determined to do what we can to support and unlock the enormous potential of UK-based agricultural science and technology to deliver benefits for society,” he said. “One of the group’s honorary patrons, Lord Cameron of Dillington, summed it up perfectly during yesterday’s meeting. Whether we are talking about food security, climate change, healthier diets or nature restoration, innovation in agriculture is part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
