Farmers are being urged to join industry calls for a bigger budget for agriculture as the government prepares to unveil its spending plans.
The Autumn Budget will be announced on 30 October. Farm leaders expect it to be like no other – with huge pressure on departmental budgets as Chancellor Rachel Reeves seeks savings across government.
The £2.4 billion agriculture budget is as much in the Chancellor’s firing line as any other, says the NFU. “We need MPs to understand just how important it is not only for food security, but for the environment and economic growth,” it warns.
Confidence
NFU president Tom Bradshaw is urging farmers to write to MPs – calling on government to truly value UK food security by delivering a renewed and enhanced multi-annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion.
“This budget is essential in giving Britain’s farmers and growers the confidence they desperately need to invest for the future,” he said.
A bigger budget would “deliver on our joint ambitions on producing more sustainable, affordable homegrown food while creating more jobs and delivering for nature, energy security and climate-friendly farming,” said Mr Bradshaw.
‘Black hole’
The run-up to the Budget has already seen repeated questions about how the Labour administration plans to fill the £22 billion black hole it argues was left by the previous government.
Speaking at an NFU fringe meeting during last month’s Labour party conference in Liverpool, Defra food security minister Daniel Zeichner said he was ‘“fighting tooth and nail” to deliver the resources needed to maintain the agricultural transition.
Food imports
Mr Zeichner said he recognised stability was key for the sector. And he reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure farmers won’t be undercut by food imports produced to standards that are illegal in the UK.
To find out how to have your say, visit www.bit.ly/biggerbudget
Money needed to deliver government goals
Analysis by the Andersons Centre suggests an annual budget of around £4 billion is needed for farming in England. This translates to a UK-wide budget of around £5.6bn, says the NFU, which commissioned the research.
The £4bn for England comprises an estimated £2.7bn to meet the government’s environmental goals, £615m for driving productivity and £720m to support the economic stability of agricultural businesses.
The NFU says this would deliver public goods for public funds, gives farmers the confidence to invest – and help meet government targets on sustainable food production, food security, the environment and net zero.
