EU food security is ‘deeply flawed’

Speaking at the Fruit Focus event yesterday (Wednesday, July 21) he said urgent action was required to reverse the decline of EU fruit and veg production.

It follows a report by Humbolt University in Berlin which showed the EU relies on 35 million virtual hectares – around twice the UK’s agricultural land area – of imported fruit and veg to meet its requirements.

Mr Kendall said it was vital the UK and other EU members looked seriously at reducing their reliance on foreign growers.

He said: “We’re a developed economic block depending on less developed countries to meet our needs, at a time when the food security challenge is at the forefront of national and international debates. I think that’s a short-sighted and deeply flawed approach to take.”

He told delegates one of the key ways to address that issue would be to ensure scientific research budgets are protected as the Government looks to make serious cuts to public spending in its bid to reduce the national deficit.

“How the government acts on its investment in scientific research and applied technology is crucial to whether the food production challenge will be met,” he said.

“The NFU has called for as much of the agri-science budget to be protected as possible, even in this economic climate, and what we’re saying chimes with what David Willetts, the new Science Minister, is saying - arguing that research is at the core of enabling the country to get back on a sound economic footing.”

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