NFU President Minette Batters has met with the prime minister to discuss the significant issues facing farmers, as well as the importance of policy prioritising food production.
The high-level meeting came after the union highlighted concerns that farmers were having to reduce production to limit losses from soaring inflation and energy bills.
During the meeting, Mrs Batters stressed the importance of Rishi Sunak honouring the commitments he made during the leadership race.
Mr Sunak committed to establish a food security target, underpinned by a statutory duty to monitor domestic food production, and to hold a UK-wide annual food security summit at Number 10.
The meeting also covered the opportunities for farming, particularly in the fruit and vegetable sector, if supply chain issues can be resolved and production costs stabilised.
The prime minister made it clear that he wanted to provide an environment for British food and farming to thrive.
Commenting after, Mrs Batters said: "The past year has been a stark reminder of what we stand to lose if British food and farming is taken for granted, and why it needs to be a political priority.
“Ongoing supply chain issues and soaring production costs have caused a shortage of eggs, while energy prices are threatening next year’s crop of tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines."
She warned that this could 'just be the start', adding that the government own ambition to grow more of UK food, especially fruit and vegetables, would fail if nothing changed.
"Food price inflation will continue to soar at a time when families need access to quality, affordable food more than ever," the NFU president said.
She said farmers and growers needed more certainty, such as continued support to farm businesses through the inflation and energy crisis.
Fair contractual relationships in the supply chain was also needed, Mrs Batters said, as well as a national food security target.
"These would help give farmers the confidence they need to continue producing fantastic British food for families up and down the country," she added.
“I hope this meeting and the prime minister’s commitment to ensuring Britain has a thriving food and sector will mark a turning point in how our government values and prioritises the production of home-grown food.”
What were Rishi Sunak's committments?
The prime minister attended a hustings at the NFU’s HQ in Warwickshire over the summer, where he made commitments to support domestic food production.
These included pledges to:
• Establish a new food security target, including a statutory duty to monitor and report on domestic food production levels annually
• Chair a UK-wide annual food security summit at 10 Downing Street, in partnership with the NFU and industry stakeholders
• Introduce a new target for public sector organisations to buy 50% of their food locally
• Use the powers in the Agriculture Act to ensure that supply chains are made fairer
• Review planning rules to ensure that high-quality farmland is sufficiently protected
• Make farmers a priority in all future trade deals…[and] build on existing support mechanisms to help farmers export to the world’s emerging markets
• Reintroduce the role of the UK Rural Advocate and increase representation of farmers at all levels of government
