UK Farm to Fork Summit 16th May 2023

16 May 2023

Government backs British farmers with new package of support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To boost trade and export opportunities to get more British food on plates across the world, building on the £24 billion a year generated by our food and drink exports, the government has confirmed that:

• Farmers’ interests will be put at the heart of trade policy through a new framework for trade negotiations, committing to protect the UK’s high food and welfare standards and prioritise new export opportunities. The Prime Minister has written an open letter to farmers today setting out how these new principles will help the industry benefit from the trade opportunities available to us outside the EU.

• We will invest £2m to boost our programme of global trade shows and missions, as well as providing £1.6m for the GREAT food and drink campaign.

• We will build on our existing overseas network with five additional agri-food and drink attaches who will spearhead the removal of restrictive market barriers

• We will extend funding to promote seafood exports around the world with an extra £1 million between 2025 and 2028, and create a new bespoke £1m programme to help dairy businesses, particularly SMEs, to seize export opportunities, particularly in the Asia pacific region.

The government will unlock the benefits of innovative technologies to strengthen our food security, cementing the UK’s leadership in this field through:

• Up to £30 million of investment to drive forward the use of precision breeding technologies, building on the £8 million already invested over the last five years and the passing of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act earlier this year

• The creation of a new working group – bringing together plant breeders, food manufacturers and retailers – to get produce from farms to the shelves.

The government will protect the interests of farmers by making sure they get a fair price for their produce:

• We are already using new powers under the Agriculture Act to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets;

• We are now announcing additional reviews into fairness in the horticulture and egg supply chains, in light of the impact of global challenges on these sectors in particular.

• Recognising the unique role and needs of the sector, and listening to the calls from the NFU, FDF and others, the Grocery Code Adjudicator will not be merged with the Competition and Markets Authority, in recognition of its importance in ensuring our food supply chains function as they should.

The horticulture sector is worth £5 billion across the UK and the government will support the industry to boost production and extend the growing season by:

• Confirming we will improve future support for horticulture by replacing the retained EU Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation Scheme when it closes in 2026 with an expanded offer as part of our new farming payment schemes.

• This will be tailored to the needs of our domestic growers and will be more inclusive than the EU scheme, ensuring it is a good offer for glasshouses as well as other growers.

• Helping the controlled horticulture sector overcome barriers to accessing government schemes, including by looking at how the sector is classified

• Making it easier to build new glasshouses through changes to national planning policy

Further announcements to increase the resilience of the sector and support its growth include:

• Plans to cut the red tape currently holding farmers back from delivering projects on their land to diversify their incomes, such as repurposing farm buildings to use as shops, with a call for evidence later this year.

• Increasing water security by accelerating work on water supply infrastructure, so that farmers can count on steady access to water, including in periods of intense dry weather.