UK food plan to be created at last

• Strategy to create a healthier nation

• Government to set out expectations

• Support nature friendly farmscall

Industry leaders have welcomed news that a national food strategy will be created by the government during the first half of 2025.

Defra secretary Steve Reed said he wanted the new strategy to deliver long-lasting change for a healthier nation. The initiative has cross-government support, including from the Prime Minister’s office, he said.

Road map

The strategy will work alongside a 25-year farming roadmap and a land use strategy which is expected to be published early in 2025 – as confirmed by Defra minister Daniel Zeichner at last autumn’s Agribusiness 2025 Conference.

The goal is to food security, economic growth, the environment and access to affordable, nutritious food. Mr Reed is due to bring the agri-food industry together early this year to co-design and collaborate on a strategy.

The Agricultural Industries Confederation has long sought a national food strategy so farm suppliers can invest with confidence in their businesses. The government must set out its expectations for the food and farming sector, it says.

Benefits

AIC chief executive Robert Sheasby said: “We look forward to engaging with the government to create a strategy which will have long-lasting benefits to boost economic growth and productivity.”

The government’s latest food security report – based on Defra’s own figures – suggests that the proportion of food secure households declined from 92% to 90% in the three years to the financial year ending 2023.

Liberal Democrat agriculture spokesman Tim Farron said: “For years, the former Conservative government completely neglected British farmers who are so vital for our economy, food security and environment.”

Mr Farron added: “These statistics are a stark reminder of just how important farming communities are to the rest of the country as producers of food and the stewards of our countryside.”

Farm policy

Environmental groups have seized on the government announcement to warn that a decline in the UK’s natural capital is a threat to UK food production – and hence to food security over the longer term.

The Wildlife Trust argues that this means the restoration of nature – including natural habitats, ecosystems, rivers, uplands, peatlands soils and much more – is critical for the country to feed itself.

Barnaby Coupe, the trusts’ senior land use policy manager, said: “We are calling on government to outline a clear future for nature-friendly farm schemes as a matter of extreme urgency.

“Farmers on marginal land with low food production – but that has high potential for nature restoration – stand to profit the most from ambitious new schemes, and today’s report shows this is equally valuable to UK food security.”

Can government deliver on promises?

Trust is eroding over Defra’s ability to deliver on its promises after the government’s decision to impose inheritance tax on farmers and freeze capital grants.

The closure of the capital grant scheme has sparked a huge backlash with some farmers left out of pocket and others feeling unable to undertake environmental improvements.

‘Betrayal of trust’ 

The government has an uphill battle to convince farmers that it has a clear strategy of UK agriculture.

That goes not just for Defra, but across all government departments – especially Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Treasury but also the Department for Business and Trade.

Many growers and livestock producers understandably believe the government has betrayed their trust. They rightly believe the sector has much to offer in terms of food security and environmental management – including its ability to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change.

With two key farming events due to take place over the coming weeks – the Oxford Farming Conference and the NFU’s annual conference ion London – government ministers have the opportunity to set the record straight and underline their commitment to farming.

But having spent 14 years in opposition before winning last year’s general election, Labour should have had a food strategy prepared long ago.