The NFU says that the UK Government must take action to value UK food security and ensure important environmental delivery by increasing the current agriculture budget.
The call comes on the 9th annual Back British Farming Day – the day politicians, the public, retailers, food processers and manufacturers are asked to celebrate and champion British agriculture and its importance to the UK economy.
But this year’s Back British Farmers day has arrived immediately in the wake of Defra’s confirmation of a £358 million underspend over the last three years.
Defra underspend
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said, “We have repeatedly highlighted our concerns about an underspend and at long last we now have an honest admission of Defra’s failure. A £358 million underspend over three years is unacceptable and nothing short of a kick in the teeth to farmers and growers who have faced years of uncertainty and loss of income during the agricultural transition.
“Let’s be clear, this underspend hasn’t happened because the investment isn’t needed. It’s happened because the schemes to replace the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) have not been completed in time and there are still many gaps and questions unanswered. We have flagged problems with the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes from day one and, despite some improvements, there is a still big gap in spending as the money saved from the continued BPS reductions has sat gathering dust.
“The risk this cumulative lost income poses to the viability of farm businesses, through no fault of their own, is well known. Recent research showed that, on average, upland businesses had lost 37 per cent of their support payments under the 2023 scheme options, despite the public goods they deliver for the nation.”
Back British Farmers
Speaking ahead of a breakfast reception for MPs in Parliament, Bradshaw said, “British farmers and growers are proud to produce the raw ingredients that underpin our essential food and drink sector, the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, worth a huge £148 billion, and employing more than four million people.
“But there are huge challenges. Over the past 18 months we have seen a collapse in farmer confidence, driven by record inflation, falls in farm income and a changing climate with unprecedented weather patterns delivering relentless rain which left thousands of acres of farmland under water.
“While in opposition we heard consistently from Labour that food security is national security. The Prime Minister, speaking at NFU Conference last year, pledged that Labour ‘aspires to govern for every corner of our country, and will seek a new relationship with the countryside and farming communities on this basis, a relationship based on respect and on genuine partnership”.
“We now need to see those ambitions realised. Today we’re calling on government to truly value UK food security by delivering a renewed and enhanced multi-annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion on the 30 October.
“On this Back British Farming Day, we are at a tipping point, so we call on government, all MPs, to also show their unstinted support. Seize this opportunity to harness the passion and the drive of British farmers and growers to ensure a thriving future – a future that is good for shoppers, good for the environment and good for a secure supply of British food.”