The first Farm to Fork Summit, held at Number 10 Downing Street, received positive feedback from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Minette Batters. She expressed delight that the Prime Minister delivered on his promise to host the summit last year for NFU members. The NFU hopes that this event signals a positive outlook for UK food security, placing domestic self-sufficiency back on the political agenda.
Batters acknowledged that the announcements made at the summit recognize the strategic importance of British food and farming to the nation. She also stressed the significance of coordinated government action in boosting investment, growth, and confidence in British food. Additionally, the NFU is calling for a set of core agri-food import standards for trade and urges the government to be more ambitious in domestic food production beyond the self-sufficiency target of 60%.
Speaking after attending the summit, NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy stated that the summit must be the start of an annual process that recognizes the importance of domestic food production and ensures positive actions to address the significant shortfalls in the nation’s food security from farm to fork. Kennedy emphasized that recent events demonstrate that food can no longer be produced for prices below the cost of production. Therefore, supporting the primary producer in the face of rising input costs and volatile output prices, poorly negotiated trade agreements, and supply chain inequities is necessary.
The poultry sector welcomes the government’s engagement on food issues, particularly focusing on overcoming trade barriers while recognizing world-class production standards. The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) CEO, Robert Gooch, applauds the government’s decision to review the fairness in the egg supply chain, which is crucial for the sector’s sustainability. The British Poultry Council (BPC) CEO, Richard Griffiths, highlights that although the summit’s commitments are a good starting point, they should lead to tangible change in ensuring safe, affordable, nutritious, low-impact food for all.
Overall, the Farm to Fork Summit represents a crucial first step towards building effective solutions with industry colleagues to prioritize a sustainable food system and placing food security high up on the political agenda. The NFU urges the government to ensure that the summit becomes an annual event, ensuring that food security never drops down the political agenda.
