Farming and Food Production

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what their top priorities are for farming and food production in this parliamentary session.

My Lords, supporting British farmers and boosting the nation’s food security are key priorities. Our reformed SFI offer will open later this month, and our ELM capital grants offer opens next month. We will continue to work with stakeholders through the new Farming and Food Partnership Board, and we will publish our response to the farming profitability review and our 25-year farming road map later this year. That will set out the Government’s long-term vision for farming.

I am grateful to the Minister for that reply but, of course, environmental schemes do not put food on the table. Will she take this opportunity to set out how the Government intend to put the focus back on to food production and farming, particularly to boost the productivity of farms in the uplands and tenanted farms? What specific measures is she intending to take to boost the food security and self-sufficiency so desperately needed at home, and the ability of our farmers to compete internationally away from home?

Clearly, profitability is really important, which is why the Batters review was so important. As part of increasing profitability, we are already implementing some of the recommendations from that review. As I said, our full response will be arriving later this year, and we will look at what else we can do. It is really important that we work closely with farmers but also processors, other producers and the horticultural sector. It is really important that we look at what we can do to increase profitability in a number of areas, and also at trade and the ability of our farmers to export, because obviously that makes a big difference. Clearly, the SPS agreement that we are looking at negotiating at the moment will also support that.

My Lords, does the Minister agree that true food security cannot exist without climate resilience? Considering the recent severe weather disruptions to UK crop yields, will the Government’s priorities in this parliamentary Session include a legally binding good food Bill to formalise national self-sufficiency targets alongside nature restoration metrics? If not, why not?

I am sure the noble Baroness is aware that no good food Bill was announced in the King’s Speech this time, and I cannot presume to guess what is going to be in the next King’s Speech. Clearly, resilience to climate change is absolutely critical. From different perspectives, we know that farmers struggle when we have severe flooding and that drought and wildfire risk is also a real problem, so improving resilience for farming to both very dry and very wet weather is an absolute priority for the Government. We have invested a record £2.65 billion in flood defences, for example, and that will include supporting farmers as well. The environmental land management schemes will also allow for grants to look at some of the impacts of climate change.

My Lords, will the Government consider extending the SFI payments to cover farmers growing leguminous crops—in other words, beans? This fixes nitrogen in the soil and makes the soil more healthy. They cannot get fertilisers at the moment because of the Strait of Hormuz blockage. Also, this is the way we want our diets to go. At the moment, there is not much money in it for farmers to plant these kinds of crops. This would be a massive step towards both combating climate change and improving health.

The noble Baroness makes a very good point. Anything that can help us to make our farming sector more secure is welcome, particularly when we have seen the impact of the war in the Middle East on fertiliser, for example. I know that the Farming Minister, Angela Eagle, is looking at ways to continue to improve the SFI offer, and I will take the noble Baroness’s suggestions back to her.

My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister acknowledge the very real contribution to the farming industry of the upland farmers, not least cefn gwlad in the lovely land of Wales, the Pennine farmers and the many uplands in Scotland and the Cheviots, for example? This community secures, in many ways, the environment of much of Britain, and they face many challenges now, not least climate change. I know how important my noble friend the Minister sees the environment to be. Does she acknowledge that this community across Britain does a great deal to help and should be acknowledged and rewarded?

I can absolutely reassure my noble friend that the uplands are very close to my heart. My mother’s family were upland farmers in Wales and I currently live in Cumbria, so I know the issues around upland farming very well. The SFI offer that is coming forward will include seven moorland actions. I know that not all uplands are moorlands, but it will help and payment rates will be increased. I have had very constructive meetings with Dr Hilary Cottam, who is looking at a new approach working very much from the ground up in upland communities and bringing them together. We are looking at pilots first in Dartmoor and then in Cumbria because we know that it is a challenging landscape to farm in, and we want to support the best we can.

My Lords, the Government announced this 25-year road map for farming in November 2024. That is 18 months ago. The noble Baroness has said it is going to happen this year, so when exactly might we see it in 2026? Will Defra now stand up for British agriculture against Treasury and government attacks when farm closures are at a record level and 51% of our farmers are thinking of simply giving up and leaving? When will the Government realise that supporting farming, our farmers and food is good for Britain? That should be the principal aim of any 25-year farming plan.

Part of the reason we decided to do a 25-year farming plan is to work with farmers and rural communities to ensure that they have some kind of certainty, some sort of security for the future, because there simply has not been enough of that in recent years. We feel that having a long-term approach that is worked up with farmers, the people who are on the ground and who understand that long-term thinking and security, can help to support them as businesses and our food security for the future.

My Lords, does the Minister accept that the backbone of food production in rural Wales and in many other areas is small family farms but that one of the banes of their lives is the red tape levels they have to face in undertaking their work? Will the Government please review the red tape pressure that is on such farms in taxation and other matters to lessen this burden and let them get on with what they are best at, which is producing food?

As I mentioned earlier, my mother’s family had a small family farm in Wales. My uncle had to do another job because he could not make sufficient money just from the farm, so I know the tough challenges that hill farms in Wales face. Obviously, it is a devolved matter. I assure the noble Lord that I talked regularly in the past to my colleague and I very much look forward to meeting the new Plaid Cymru Minister. I will continue to work to reduce red tape in whatever way we can for farms.

My Lords—

My Lords—

It is the turn of the Cross Benches.