Topics high on the agenda included the critical role of food security in delivering national security, the investment required for the future of farming and restrictions around planning policy.
As well as meeting with the Defra Secretary of State, the NFU has also written to MPs and Cabinet ministers outlining the importance of British farming to the nation; an industry which forms the backbone of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink – contributing more than £146 billion to the economy and employing more than four million people.
The letters, one sent to all English and Welsh MPs and others to all Cabinet ministers in the context of their portfolios, set out the priority policies to support the nation’s shared ambition for food security and growth and will put British farming front and centre as MPs take their seats across Parliament.
More information
- The priorities outlined in the letters to Cabinet ministers and MPs include:
- An increased multi-year agriculture budget for the duration of the next Parliament.
- A transparent transition to ELMs.
- Regulation on supply chain fairness and public procurement.
- Controls on imports that don’t meet core production standards.
- Access to competent, motivated and skilled workers in the horticulture and agriculture sector.
- Planning system reform to enable investment in modern buildings and infrastructure.
- Effective water management and compensation for storing floodwater on agricultural land.
- An evidence-based plan for disease management, including action on bovine TB.