The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has welcomed the launch of Defra’s consultation on food security - but is disappointed at the government’s continued emphasis on internal factors.
The debate, which closes on September 15, will look at how the UK can continue to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of food in the future.
The discussion paper, entitled ‘Ensuring UK food security in a changing world’, poses a number of questions for the public and industry to comment on. In particular, the government is keen to hear the views of the agricultural sector as well as other groups such as consumers and retailers.
NFU president Peter Kendall said: “The NFU has always maintained that food security cannot be uniquely tackled at the national level, but that should not preclude British farming from playing a crucial part in addressing this global issue. Therefore, I welcome the fact that the secretary of state [Hilary Benn] recognises that UK agriculture has a vital contribution to make to food security both in Britain and internationally, but am disappointed at the lack of concrete proposals.
“It is, however, frustrating that this is not recognised in the potential supporting indicators proposed in the consultation document. This is, for me, a sign that Defra has yet to acknowledge that action on food security should start at home.
“At a time when both the prime minister and the chancellor are highlighting the importance of food production, it seems incongruous to focus on other countries and not on what can and needs to be done at the domestic level.
“The NFU will be making the case for a productive UK agricultural sector as a necessary condition for food security at the national and global level, and for that to translate into concrete actions across all policy areas.”
James Withers, NFU Scotland chief executive, said: “The launch of this discussion paper is a step in the right direction, but it must mark the start of a fundamental shift in UK government thinking. It is still pursuing outdated policies that are actually exacerbating food security concerns, not alleviating them. Simplistic cries to ‘scrap the CAP’, the complete failure on TB control and attempts to shift disease control costs onto industry are all examples of policies that have the potential to jeopardise our food production infrastructure.
“For the first time since the world wars, food security has become a major issue again for the UK. The world needs to feed a population growing in size and wealth on ever-decreasing amounts of quality agricultural land. This makes securing the future of agricultural production in Scotland and the UK more important than for decades. The UK government is starting to make the right noises, but it now needs to build a policy package which has a productive agricultural sector at its core.”
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