Plant and animal disease threats are on the rise at a time when food security is a high priority
The NFU and former Defra minister and FSA chair Lord Rooker have come together to call for a cross-government biosecurity plan and sufficient investment to counter the biosecurity risks the UK faces.
The call comes as the number of animal and plant disease outbreaks around the world increases, with several high-profile cases having already taken place this year. It also comes at a time when the UK is in discussions over a US trade deal, and against the backdrop of continued slow progress over a UK-EU SPS deal.
With the risk of animal and plant disease high, the NFU is asking for a clear plan and investment now to prevent what it warns are potentially crippling costs down the line, as well as to protect domestic food production at a time when food security is so important.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “Outbreaks of plant or animal disease pose a significant risk to the UK’s food security, which this government has repeatedly stated is critical to national security, especially when coupled with increasing global instability and the impact that can have on the UK’s food supply.
“Livestock businesses are worried that the current import controls don’t match the scale of the threat to the nation’s biosecurity and food safety.
“Meanwhile, fruit, vegetable and ornamental businesses importing young plants and plant material are concerned that inspections at border control points increase the biosecurity risk and cause long delays, adding significant costs and jeopardising production.
“In a more uncertain world, we require decisive action to secure Britain’s future, and the government is right when it says that its job is not to step back, but step up. It did just that when it injected a much needed £200 million into the biosecurity centre in Weybridge.
“We now need to see a more comprehensive biosecurity plan, established across government including Defra, Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office, and with the necessary investment behind it to minimise the risks to British farming and the food we produce as much as possible.”
Lord Rooker added: “Food is the UK’s biggest manufacturing sector and if one part of the sector is damaged by a disease outbreak, it can destroy the public’s confidence in the rest of it.
“It’s relevant to note that it’s 25 years since the conception of the Food Standards Agency, which was created to rectify the disastrous collapse of food confidence following the BSE outbreak. The FSA restored people’s confidence in food and that must be maintained at all costs.
“It should be central government which drives biosecurity forward, it’s not just up to Defra. But I’m not sure the awareness of the potential impacts is there.
“This government has a habit of ignoring countryside issues, but this is not a countryside issue, it’s an economic one. If our food manufacturing sector is damaged, then the effect on the rest of the economy is enormous. It must be taken seriously. If not, we’re in real trouble.”
