Farming minister George Eustice yesterday visited Lincoln to launch a new body to champion Lincolnshire’s food producers.
The Food Board is made up of senior figures from food and farming and will support the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in its ambitious new agri-food plan, also launched yesterday.
The plan aims to double the economic value of the food industry in Greater Lincolnshire by 2030.
Speaking at the launch of the board and plan at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, Eustice said: “It is excellent to see areas like Lincolnshire taking a lead, recognising the huge contribution the sector makes to the local economy and developing ambitious plans for future growth.”
Mark Tinsley, a member of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP board, said: “Greater Lincolnshire is the food heartland of the UK but the agri-food sector is often overlooked when it comes to prioritising support for business.
“Without our agri-food sector and all the people in it who grow, harvest, prepare and distribute our food, this region would be in a much worse economic state and the country would have to import far more food than it already does.
“That’s why the Greater Lincolnshire LEP has made agri-food one of its priority sectors, and we’re launching our Agri-Food Plan this week to set out how we can help our food processing and farming businesses to grow even further.”
The Food Board will advise on issues such as water management, planning, transport infrastructure, the translation of research to industry or skills requirements.
It has already begun work with a survey of future water requirements needs and a request for the food sector’s views on the importance of improved flood defences, Tinsley said.
The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a private and public sector partnership that aims to improve conditions for infrastructure and business in Greater Lincolnshire.
