British horticulture should look to the Dutch and turn to more intensive greenhouse-based agriculture post-Brexit, according to the Shadow Defra Secretary.
Labour's Sue Hayman urged farmers to be more productive after Brexit, and warned agriculture could be bargained away in the Brexit negotiations.
Ms Hayman told the remarks during a visit with local fishermen at Sutton Harbour in Plymouth with local MP Luke Pollard.
The Shadow Defra Secretary said that whilst she agreed on the Government's current approach to emphasising conservation and environment work, she said productivity must also be supported.
The farming industry has told of its concern over Defra Secretary Michael Gove's commitment to a "green Brexit", one which focuses on animal welfare and the environment over food production.
But Ms Hayman said farmers should also be supported with further policies to increase food production.
She said British horticulture should look to the Dutch model, with more intensive greenhouse-based agriculture, funded out of post-Brexit farm subsidies.
The Netherlands has become an agricultural giant by showing what the future of farming could look like. They are the country's greenhouse complexes, some of them covering 175 acres.
“Our productivity has dropped over the past 40 years. We only produce 60% of what we eat. I think we need to encourage greater productivity as well as environmental benefit,” Ms Hayman explained.
According to a report released earlier this year, the USA and the Netherlands are out-performing the UK on agricultural productivity by as much as three times.
She continued: “If you go to the supermarket, lettuces, tomatoes all come in from Spain. There is not reason why we couldn’t fund horticultural to build greenhouses and grow more or our own produce in this country.”
