The Prime Minister has announced a major new package of support for rural communities to protect British farming for the next generation.
Speaking at the National Farmers Union annual conference in Birmingham, he announced a £220m package of funding for technology and innovation to protect British farming for centuries to come.
The speech also outlined government plans to boost the UK’s food security.
Sunak made a bid to win farmers’ trust, telling them that he believed food security “was a vital part of our national security.”
The NFU broadly welcomed the plans but said they included no actual new money.
Farming protest groups say more needs to be done to protect British farming from competition posed by cheaper imports.
Farmers are facing more and more issues
This comes as British farmers are struggling with rising costs, low supermarket prices, and a new post-Brexit farm payments scheme that many say has focused on environmental policy over food productivity.
Farmers also believe they have to go through too much bureaucracy to access government grants while being undercut by cheaper food imports from countries with lower welfare standards than the UK.
New technology to protect British farming
Funding will be injected into future-focused technology and productivity schemes to ensure farmers can access new equipment, including kits which increase automation to reduce reliance on overseas workers.
It will also fund cost-saving energy measures, such as rooftop solar, to safeguard land for food production.
The multi-million-pound funding pot will also increase support for processing, packing and retailing in British farming.
The funding doubles investment in productivity schemes, growing the grant offer from £91m last year to £220m next year to keep up with demand for the scheme from farmers.
Ensuring a fair and secure supply chain
The PM has also announced plans to ensure all British farmers and producers are treated fairly, with new regulations set to be laid in Parliament for the dairy sector, ensuring they have reasonable and transparent contracts.
Similar regulations for the pig sector will come later this year, with the egg sector expected to follow.
A new supply chain fairness review of the poultry sector is also set to be launched, and DEFRA is expected to consult stakeholders on whether the sheep and beef sectors should follow.
Underlining the importance of British Farming, the Prime Minister will tell the audience that the Government will publish an annual Food Security Index at the next Farm to Fork Summit this spring.
The Farm to Fork food-security summit will also become an annual event.
Sunak concluded: “We don’t celebrate British farmers enough, and so on behalf of the nation, I just wanted to say thank you, and I’ve got your back.”
