‘Food production must not be overlooked in new Land Use Framework’

An ambitious Land Use Framework (LUF) needs to give food production the same priority as delivering legislated environmental targets, otherwise the ability to continue producing food for the nation could be put at risk, the NFU has said.

This is in response to months of consultation in the final stages of being carried out by the UK Government as part of its Plan for Change. Data has been collected on the value to Britain of supporting economic growth by building 1.5 million homes and delivering critical infrastructure, while securing clean power, protecting farmland and restoring the natural world, according to Labour.

During the consultation, Government has been seeking views from farmers, landowners, businesses across the UK, saying earlier this year it wanted to, “give decision makers the data they need to protect our most productive agricultural land, boosting Britain’s food security in a time of global uncertainty, and a changing climate”.

Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food, Farming Countryside Commission, called the announcement in January timely, saying it set out clear principles, with clear mechanisms for delivery, pointing to work ongoing in Devon, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

The NFU remains cautious, however, and in its recent submission to Defra’s consultation, said it recognises a number of competing demands for land use (including housebuilding, energy, leisure, recreation and critical infrastructure), but highlighted that food production must not be overlooked - especially at a time when Britain faces numerous significant global challenges.

The NFU said it wants to lay the firm foundations for a sustainable and profitable future, supported by a multi-functional land use strategy. First and foremost is a target for British food production, just as the Government has legislated for targets on the environment.

NFU President, Tom Bradshaw, said, “The geopolitical tensions and the vulnerability of global food supply chains, alongside an unpredictable climate and extreme weather, are making food production at home and abroad so much harder. We should not be adding to this by taking land out of production and assuming we can maintain the same levels of production.

“As the Government has repeatedly stated, food security is critical to the nation’s resilience, so it’s vital we invest in homegrown food production and ensure we make the best use of every hectare of our agricultural land.”

This is why, Mr Bradshaw continued, the NFU is asking for targets for British food production, and for the countryside to remain a “functional, dynamic space”, that can thrive, support a profitable farming industry, and enable growers to work sustainably, producing affordable food alongside carrying out important work for the environment and nature recovery, while creating more jobs, and supporting greener energy security. “We cannot allow food to become the poor relation,” Mr Bradshaw expressed.

Mr Bradshaw also highlighted the huge pressures UK farming has faced over the past 18 months, with farm businesses also held back by domestic policies.

He added, “We have taken a battering; volatile input costs, higher employer national insurance rates, reductions in direct payments and the family farm tax have all left their mark. The closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has also threatened the livelihoods of numerous farmers, especially upland farmers and tenants, and undermined the ability of farm businesses to produce food and deliver environmental services.”

But we now have the opportunity, he said, through the LUF, to make the best use of our most productive agricultural land, as highlighted in the NFU Blueprints. By investing in British farming (which the NFU says contributes £148 billion to the national economy), the industry can lay foundations for the future, enabling farmers to continue producing food alongside caring for the environment, while delivering the growth our economy needs.

“Alongside this, we need a trade policy with a robust system of core standards for food imports that protect farmers and consumers from imported food that would be illegal to produce here.”