Having continuously made the case for the need to back British farmers and bolster the nation’s food security, Dr Neil Hudson MP has paid tribute to the Conservative Government for listening to him by announcing a suite of measures to support profitable farming businesses and protect the British agriculture industry for generations to come.
This week the Prime Minister and Environment Secretary attended the NFU Conference 2024 where they announced a host of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the sector – including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million.
This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, which provides support for farmers to invest in automation and robotics.
With the war in Ukraine, disruption to international supply chains and the pandemic; food security has come into sharp relief over recent years and so Dr Neil Hudson MP – with his veterinary background and England’s largest rural constituency behind him – has been instrumental to Parliament’s response to mounting challenges.
From triggering and publishing a report into the UK’s food security resilience to sharing his food security expertise on a specialised panel for policy makers – Dr Hudson has devoted significant time to finetuning the UK’s food security policy and is a well respected advocate for farmers in Parliament.
In the last three month’s Dr Hudson’s food security campaign actions have included:
· Chairing the Commons Select Inquiry on British agriculture in new international trade deals.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
“Having worked tirelessly to highlight the challenges the UK faces with bolstering its food security, I am delighted with this announcement from the very heart of our Conservative administration. From innovation funding to a new annual Food Security Index – we are backing not just our brilliant British farmers but the entire UK population they nourish and it is only the Conservatives can be trusted to deliver for our rural communities. I have consistently called for an annual assessment of our food security and am delighted the Government has listened to me.”
The Prime Minister also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index to capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security, that the Farm to Fork Summit will be held annually, and a £15 million fund to help tackle food waste by enabling farmers to redistribute surplus food that cannot be used commercially at the farm gate.
This comes as new regulations will be laid in Parliament tomorrow to ensure fair and transparent contracts for dairy farmers, meaning clearer pricing terms for farmers; changes to contracts can’t be imposed on farmers without their agreement; and providing more straightforward ways for farmers to raise concerns about their contracts. Alongside this, a review is also set to launch to improve fairness in the poultry supply chain.
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“For generations, farmers have worked day in, day out to put food on our tables and are custodians of our beautiful British countryside. This is why we committed £2.4 billion to support British farming and have invested into the sector to boost agricultural productivity and resilience, increase food security and deliver for the environment, delivering on our plan.
“This includes the largest ever package of competitions and grants to foster technology and innovation, bolstered by our increasingly popular farming schemes that support all types and size of farm businesses to produce food sustainably.”
The government also confirmed farmers will benefit from the improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) from July this year, following the announcement by the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay in January.
The improved offer includes a 10% increase in the average value of agreements in SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS); a streamlined single application process for farmers to apply for the SFI and CS Mid-Tier; and around 50 new actions that farmers can get paid for.
In addition, the government will double the Management Payment for SFI so those with existing agreements will receive up to an extra £1,000 this spring and it will be extended to Countryside Stewardship mid tier for the first year of agreements starting by March 2025. This means that the 11,000 farmers that have applied for SFI will receive that top up this spring.
At the conference, the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay will host a roundtable with regional NFU board members to discuss the opportunities and issues facing farmers around the country. The Farming Minister Mark Spencer will speak at the conference as part of a political session on Wednesday.
Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:
“Maintaining food security and boosting sustainable food production is vital as we see the impacts of more extreme weather and global events, and today’s announcements provide further support for farmers to deliver this while also protecting the environment.
“Almost half of farmers across the country are already signed up to our farming schemes and we continue to work closely with farmers to tweak and improve our offer so as many farmers as possible are encouraged to get involved.”
Further measures announced include making up to £500,000 available to deliver projects that support mental health in the farming sector; and expanding permitted development rights to help farm businesses diversify and run profitable businesses, such as farm shops and sports venues.
Funding will also be provided to Internal Drainage Boards that protect agricultural land and rural communities from flooding, helping areas recover from recent flooding events and modernising infrastructure to lower costs for farmers and increase their resilience to climate change.
