County farmers voice fears UK is 'sleepwalking into further food supply crises'

Farmer and NFU West Midlands regional board chairman David Brookes, who represents Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, spoke after the Government was told it faced a stark choice – back British food production in order to secure a home-grown supply of sustainable food or risk seeing more empty shelves in the nation’s supermarkets.

That warning came at an emergency press conference convened by the NFU, on the same day as horticulture board members gathered for an extraordinary meeting about ongoing shortages in its workforce.

Mr Brookes said: “With the bleak global picture and the devastation caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have seen immense pressure put on energy and global food supplies.

"We have seen food security rise up the political agenda domestically. Affordable, traceable, climate-friendly British food does need to be made a political priority.

“Our farms, large and small, continue to deliver in the toughest global circumstances and we have the backing of the British public, they have made it clear they want the food they eat to continue to be produced to our world leading standards. I would urge our politicians and the wider supply chain to back our calls.”

UK fruit and veg growers are coming under massive pressure due to soaring energy costs and workforce shortages and there are fears other farming sectors could soon be under threat from immediate supply issues caused by a lack of fairness for farmers and growers throughout the supply chain.

NFU President Minette Batters has urged the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to honour the commitments he made to support British farmers through the energy crisis and to set a target for the nation’s food security, with a statutory duty to report on domestic food levels.

Mrs Batters said: “Shoppers up and down the country have for decades had a guaranteed supply of high-quality affordable food produced to some of the highest animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards in the world.

"That food, produced with care by British farmers, is critical to our nation’s security and success. But British food is under threat.

“Only last week, the former Director General of MI5, The Baroness Manningham-Buller, said that food is part of our critical national infrastructure and that government needs to be consistent in planning for our food supply. I couldn’t agree more, particularly at a time when global volatility is threatening the stability of the world’s food production, food security and energy security.

“We have seen the egg supply chain crippled under the pressure caused by these issues and I fear the country is sleepwalking into further food supply crises, with the future of British fruit and vegetable supplies in trouble. We need Government and the wider supply chain to act now - tomorrow could well be too late.”