THE NATIONAL FARMERS Union (NFU) will announce that the UK is set to face a crisis in its agriculture production outputs if more is not done to invest in farming.
A study by the organisation shows that Britain will need to increase food imports to 50% to meet the demands of a rising population and that food security and the economy will be hit with ‘serious implications’.
Food self-sufficiency has been on a steady decline for the past 20 years. In 1991 production stood at 75% which has fallen to 60%.
Meurig Raymond, NFU president, said, “The stark choice for the next government is whether to trust the nation’s food security to volatile world markets or to back British farming and reverse the worrying trend in food production.
“I know what I want to happen. I want to see a robust plan for increasing the productive potential of farming, stimulating investment and ensuring that the drive to increase British food production is at the heart of every government department.”
The report includes the NFU’s ‘top ten policy asks’. These include the UK government engaging and championing farming in EU policy making, introducing fiscal initiative that enable farm business to manage volatility and promote capital investment, and providing faming information to schools and colleges.
