The UK government must adopt an ambitious new strategy to increase domestic food production by 30% by 2050, MPs who sit on a committee say.
With good soils, a temperate climate, a professional farming sector and a world-class agri-science base, Britain is 'well-placed' to produce more food.
But MPs warn that dependence on imports, such as wheat, is at its highest since records began 30 years ago.
And this year, the industry is on course to produce just 15% of the UK's vegetable oil requirements, rather than 40% a decade or so ago.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture (APPGSTA) calls for UK food production to be boosted by 30% by 2050 while reducing farming's environmental footprint by 50% - which they dub the '30:50:50 vision'.
Their new 'Innovation Agenda for UK Agriculture' document calls for the government to set out clear, long-term objectives to help achieve this.
The All-Party Group's chair, George Freeman MP welcomed the government’s commitment to food security, and that it wants the country to produce more food.
But Mr Freeman said there was serious doubt over whether current farming policies would deliver on that ambition.
He said: “We have to question seriously whether the state of affairs this government has inherited, and the policies put in place by the previous administration, are likely to support an ambition for the nation’s farmers to produce more food.
"Potato production is at its lowest level for more than a decade, and Defra figures indicate that UK self-sufficiency in fresh vegetables, at 53%, is at its lowest since records began in 1988, while for fresh fruit we produce just 16% of our needs.
“This isn’t about talking the industry down. Britain is well-placed to produce more food, more sustainably, and to reduce our dependence on food imports."
The group explains that the urgency of UK food security, affordability and sustainability challenges mean that long-term objectives are needed to harness the latest advances in agricultural science and innovation.
Britain has some of the most cutting edge, world-leading research taking place in research institutes and university departments across the country, it says.
But the Innovation Agenda for UK Agriculture document calls for a clearer plan to unlock its potential, and to translate that science into on-farm innovation.
Farmers and growers also need clarity and consistency about their purpose, first and foremost, as food producers, it explains.
Mr Freeman pointed to the US, which has set out a high-level Agricultural Innovation Agenda to boost production by 40% by 2050, while halving its agriculture’s environmental footprint.
He said the UK must adopt a similar, long-term objective to increase food production sustainably.
"That’s why the group is launching its vision for an Innovation Agenda for UK Agriculture, as the start of a conversation which we hope will result in a more evidence-based approach to helping farmers to produce ‘more from less’."
