Today the Prime Minister will host the second UK Farm to Fork summit alongside Government Ministers at No.10 Downing Street, recognising the crucial importance of the farming and food sector. The annual event will bring together representatives from across the supply chain to discuss some of the key challenges and growth opportunities that lie ahead, reaffirming our plans to bolster food security and support a resilient and profitable food and farming sector. The event will build on the progress made since last year’s successful summit, including work to embed fairness in supply chains, investment to unlock innovative new technologies, cutting unnecessary red tape and boosting exports of our great British food.
Despite the challenges farmers have faced in recent months, with the wettest 18 months on record in England, as well as the impacts of covid and the war in Ukraine, food businesses have continued to put food on our plates, day in, day out. The summit therefore reflects the crucial importance of the farming and food sector to our nation and provides an opportunity to explore how to turbocharge the sector as an engine for growth. To coincide with the event, the Government have set out a new package of measures to boost food security and support domestic production. This includes plans to:
Boost the production of UK fruit and vegetables. Today we have published a draft of the first ever UK food security index, which will allow us to monitor short-term trends across the UK. It complements the three-yearly UK food security report which focuses on longer-term trends. Alongside the index, we have published our blueprint for growing the UK fruit and vegetable sector, which aims to boost production of fresh produce and reduce reliance on imports. This is backed by our new horticulture resilience and growth offer, through which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will look to double to £80 million the amount of funding given to horticulture businesses when compared to the EU legacy fruit and vegetable aid scheme, which will be replaced from 2026 onwards. An improved, comprehensive, and simplified offer will recognise the producer organisation model, while at the same time bringing individual businesses within scope for support, with up to £10 million being made available to help orchard growers access the equipment, technology and infrastructure they need to produce more great British fruit.
Provide further support for farmers affected by the recent wet weather. Building on our commitment to extend the farming recovery fund to support farmers who have been flooded, temporary adjustments will be made for farmers and land managers where the wet weather has led to difficulties carrying out the requirements of our environmental land management schemes. Next week we will be setting out the detail of the £75 million fund to support internal drainage boards to accelerate recovery from the winter 2023-24 storms, and provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets that support resilience for farms and rural communities.