Marvin OnumonuThe Government has introduced policies and investments aimed at boosting the profitability of farmers, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
At the NFU conference in Westminster, Secretary of State for DEFRA Steve Reed outlined plans to improve the farming sector’s profitability and support rural growth.
Measures include extending the Seasonal Worker visa route for five years, enhancing Government catering contracts to favour British produce, and investing £110m in farming technology.
The Government said it is committed to maintaining high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade agreements, setting a goal for at least 50% of food supplied in public sector contracts to come from British producers or those meeting higher environmental standards.
Reed emphasised the importance of protecting British farmers in trade deals and strengthening biosecurity with a new National Biosecurity Centre at Weybridge.
Reed said: “The underlying problem is that farmers do not make enough money for the hard work and commitment they put in.
“I will consider my time as Secretary of State a failure if I do not improve profitability for farmers across the country.
“Today I can announce I will set up a new farming profitability unit within the department to drive that goal.”
Reed added: “I want to outline what the Government is doing to tackle the deep-rooted problems holding the sector back.
“Because time and again, I hear farmers say that they do not make a fair profit for the food they produce.
“And it is only by overcoming these long-standing challenges that we can create the conditions for your farming businesses to succeed.
“Achieving this starts by treating farms as the businesses they are.”
He said: “Farmers have repeatedly told me they want to stand on their own two feet. They are proud people and rightly so.
“But it is paternalistic and patronising for government to treat farmers as if they are not operating in a marketplace in which they need to turn a decent profit.
“I worked in business for 16 years, with responsibility every year for driving up profit and driving down cost.”
He added: “British farming has some of the hardest working, most creative people anywhere in the British workforce.
“But a sector that isn’t profitable doesn’t have a future. I know that from my own long experience in business.
“My focus is on ensuring farming becomes more profitable – because that is the best way to make your businesses viable for the future.
“And that’s how we ensure the long-term food security this country needs.”
