The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has welcomed the DEFRA report into sustainable food security, stating that the industry will continue to provide a sustainable supply of fresh produce and play a leading role in securing food supplies in the UK.
The report, Securing food supplies up to 2050: the challenges faced by the UK, states: “The UK should not aim to be self-sufficient, even in indigenous food stuffs. Total self-sufficiency would make the UK’s food supplies less secure rather than more secure.”
Around 60 per cent of fruit and vegetables are imported to the UK, providing consumers with produce outside the UK season as well as varieties which cannot be grown in the UK due to our climate.
At the same time, the report identifies the need for DEFRA to understand fully “the reasons for relatively low levels of domestic fruit and vegetable production”. The FPC has provided evidence to the government’s Council of Food Policy Advisors, which is tasked to look at some of the barriers facing production in the UK.
FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney said: “There is a significant opportunity for UK growers to increase the sustainable production of indigenous crops which are suited to our climate. We believe that DEFRA should help provide a focus for the industry to evaluate the potential for increasing these crops and ensure that the sector has the necessary tools to maximise this potential."
The report also states the importance of a fair return for growers and a profitable agricultural system, calling on DEFRA to ensure that there are strong relationships in the food chain which secure food supplies over the long term.
“There are some tough challenges ahead which have been recognised in this report and we recognise the committee’s call for a more robust supply chain to meet these challenges. With rising obesity levels across Europe it is essential that we encourage more people to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and that the industry can continue to provide a sustainable affordable supply of fresh produce,” said Jenney.
The committee is calling for more funding to be spent on research, and the FPC has made a case to the BBSRC for more focus to be given to UK horticulture.
