Food production is an election issue says top Suffolk farmer

Andrew Blenkiron, chairman of the Suffolk branch of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said as MPs and prospective MPs head into a general election next year they should be supporting local produce at affordable prices.

The NFU believes rural votes will be key in the election - and has launched its own manifesto calling for food production targets to match environmental ones.

"We must ensure that politicians are held to account on where our food comes from and how it is produced," said Mr Blenkiron, who is director of the Euston Estate.

It would be "so easy" to buy from the cheapest producers in the world - but this was wrong on a number of fronts he said.

The cheap produce won't meet the same environmental and welfare standards - and local produce came with a lower carbon footprint and tastes better, he suggested.

"I would question how secure that supply really is. We have seen too many shortages over the last few years to forget about this as an issue," he added.

"East Anglian farmers can compete with the lowest cost producers in the world - although it does sometimes seem like the regulators want to tie not only one, but both hands behind our backs when we attempt to deliver. 

"The key to me is that our customers continue to have the ability to purchase local produce at affordable prices and that government supports us as farmers to enable this to happen."

The NFU manifesto includes a poll showing how much food and farming matters to voters.

It reveals a strong appetite for greater government support to boost home-grown food production with 84% believing food production targets are either as important or more important than environmental targets for farming.

Of those surveyed, 66% think that the parties’ plans on farming will be one of the issues that affects who they vote for at the next general election.

Two thirds think that a commitment to a long-term plan for food and farming will be an important factor in who they vote for at the next election.

The manifesto calls on the next government to match the existing target-led ambitions for the environment and climate mitigation with similar ambitions for Britain’s food security - by setting targets for food production.

NFU president Minette Batters said shoppers wanted to be able to go into a supermarket and have the option to buy quality, high-welfare, environmentally-friendly food.

“All our research shows that the British people really value our farmers and growers for the work they do day-in, day-out to feed the nation," she said.

“With food production under increasing pressure – not least from record production costs and the biggest shake-up in agricultural policy since 1947 – we need policies in place that support British farming, with all Whitehall departments developing policy through the lens of food production.

“We know that the rural vote will be important in this election, but it’s clear that across the country, people living in towns and cities also want to know how parties plan to boost sustainable, home-grown food production as well as care for the environment and tackle climate change."

She warned against falling into the trap that we can import our food needs from other countries

"We’ve seen that approach fail before with empty supermarket shelves and we know there is strong public opinion against importing food from elsewhere produced in ways that would be illegal here," she said.

"What farmers, growers and the public need now is to see practical and progressive policies coming from all political parties which are investing in a future where British food and farming can thrive.”

Glenn Buckingham, who farms at Debenham and is deputy chairman at Suffolk NFU, said: "It's absolutely necessary to have a domestic, diverse farming industry.

"With all the  threats there are to imported food supply, we have to improve our resilience and nature recovery at the same time.

"This can be done with diverse  land use supplying our local and domestic customers with quality food for a healthy population. The Singapore model is not realistic."

The online poll - commissioned by the NFU - was carried by More in Common in October and involved 2,135 adults in England and Wales.