Feeding the Nation: Shropshire farming challenged
The media has recently reported that Britain is “sleepwalking” into a food supply crisis.
Most people in the British farming industry are concerned as fuel and feed costs have already gone up by 75%, the fertiliser price has tripled since 2019 and producers are still having to fight to try to get a fair deal from retailers.
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.
This is so true and the rationing of eggs, seen earlier this month, could be just the start of supply issues, as farmers and growers struggle to make a living and leave the industry.
Behind the usually full-looking supermarket shelves lies a supply chain that is sensitive to economic, social, political and environmental events.
The war in Ukraine, the combined impact of the pandemic and Brexit should have opened our eyes to a scenario where reliance on home grown food was easier to imagine.
Now the prospect of empty supermarket shelves continues to become a reality because our hardworking British farmers are not paid a fair price.
Will the powers that be sit back and let more and more farmers exit the industry because it is no longer viable to sustain a living?
Our farmers are always resolute and determined but the challenges they face can be torturous. It is easy to take our food for granted – we must celebrate and support our British farmers. Let’s hope that 2023 is an easier year for all.
Keith Fowles is the owner of KLF Insurance Brokers
