Government cautions against increased self-sufficiency in food

In its extensive response to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee investigation into securing food supplies to 2050, the Government said a reliance on home produced food would also leave the country vulnerable to severe weather events.

The Government said: “Food security is fundamentally about availability, affordability and access to nutritious and sustainably produced food. It is not a question of domestic self-sufficiency.”

It said self-sufficiency in indigenous crops was already at 73 per cent, higher than in the 1950s, and warned any increase could leave the country vulnerable.

“Even if it were possible, self-sufficiency would not insulate us against disruptions to our domestic supply chain and retail distribution system,” it said.

Tom Hind, NFU head of economics, said the Government had failed again to highlight the importance of UK food production.   

“Government should not evade the UK’s moral responsibility to stand ready to increase food production to meet growing demand here and abroad.

“At the heart of the challenge of meeting growing demand sustainably is the need to boost productivity,” he said.

The Government document did, however, acknowledge the need to support domestic production in certain sectors.

The report identified the need to set up a task force to support domestic production of fruit and vegetables and said the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force had already helped improve supply chain relationships to better protect British pig farmers.

The principle of supporting and fostering strong supply chain relationships was also in evidence through the Dairy Supply Chain Forum, it said, but added there were no plans to replicate the said initiatives in other commodity sectors.

Overall, the Government said it was vital to complement work to increase sustainable agricultural production with work on trade and CAP reform, improving research, reducing food waste and changing people’s diets.  

But Mr Hind again criticised the Ministers for missing the opportunity to put their money where its mouth is on research and development.

“While the Government recognises the acute importance of R&D, it does not recognise how the decline in public funding is stagnating progress.

“Similarly, we would welcome greater acknowledgement of the challenges facing the translation of agricultural research into practice,” he said.

The Government said it would publish its comprehensive food strategy paper early next year.

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