91仓库has commended the ambition of the outcomes, particularly:聽
- Conditions for the food sector to thrive and grow sustainably, including investment in innovation and productivity, and fairer more transparent supply chains.聽
- Trade supporting environmentally sustainable growth, upholding British standards and expanding export opportunities.聽
- Greater preparedness for supply chain shocks, disruption, and impacts of chronic risks.聽
However, more detailed policy on how the government will drive these outcomes will be critical. The strategy relies heavily on the success of programmes such as the Land Use Framework and the 25 Year Farming Roadmap and the NFU has called for food production to be given the same level of prioritisation within these as climate and environmental outcomes.聽
It also fails to recognise that farms are commercial businesses and must be profitable if they are to deliver sustainable and nutritious food for the nation, care for the environment and contribute to economic growth. 聽
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: 鈥淭he food system is complex and it鈥檚 good to see ambitions for this strategy to span across government departments. I welcome the positive things within the strategy around investment in productivity and resilience to risk and shock.聽
鈥淲hile Defra is holding a review into Farm Profitability, there is a lack of joined up thinking, as evidenced in this food strategy, that farms are commercial businesses and to succeed they must be profitable. This poses a real risk to British farming鈥檚 ability to deliver sustainable and nutritious food for the nation, care for the environment and contribute to economic growth. 聽
鈥淎 key issue for the sector is that farm business confidence is at an all-time low. While a long-term strategy is important, the development of policy behind it has to move at pace to provide much-needed certainty in the short-term and restore farmer confidence. 聽
鈥淭hese policies should value the contribution of our food and drink sector, the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, which is worth more than 拢148 billion to the economy and provides jobs for four million people.聽
鈥淲e need everyone in government to recognise that a resilient food system is not just an ambition but a necessity, and that a thriving, profitable farming industry is critical to delivering this.鈥澛�