Western Morning News (Saturday)
Balancing production and protection
LAST weekend I was in Blackpool at the Conservative Spring Conference, where I gave a speech about the work we are doing to keep international supply chains open, to support the people of Ukraine and secure our food supply.
We have all been moved by the courage of Ukraine’s president, by the bravery of the Ukrainian army and by the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Ukrainian farmers are showing tenacity in another way. The determination to get this year’s crop in the ground shows Ukraine is a country that believes in its future and refuses to give up. Of course, Ukraine is a significant global producer of many agricultural commodities such as wheat and sunflower oil. The invasion has obviously caused turbulence in international markets. Agricultural prices have always been strongly correlated to the price of energy. The turbulence has brought into focus, once again, the importance of a resilient global supply chain.
The UK is largely self-sufficient in wheat and imports a small amount, predominantly from Canada, but we are working with like-minded countries around the globe to ensure trade flows continue, and through organisations such as the World Food Programme to identify vulnerabilities in other countries and to play our part in ensuring we get food to those nations in need, including those besieged cities in Ukraine.
Recent events and the impact of the Covid pandemic are also a reminder that domestic food production matters. Domestic food production gives us national resilience. Our new farming schemes in England are helping our farmers to improve their profitability and output. We’ve just increased the Farming Investment Fund for small technology grants from £17 million to more than £48m, supporting thousands of farmers’ investment plans this year.
Of course, food production and environmental protection must go hand in hand. I’ve always maintained that they are two sides of the same coin. Many of the steps we will take to encourage a more sustainable model of agriculture will also help improve the resilience and profitability of farm businesses. Last year our world-leading Environment Act became law, creating a new domestic framework outside the EU. Last week I set out ambitious environmental targets in priority areas, from biodiversity to air and water quality. I want us to use our new-found freedom to do better for our environment – where there is more room for science and less obsession with legal process.
As the Prime Minister said at COP, we have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror and instead become its custodian – a mantra that has long been at the core of conservatism. Now is the moment, and it is a Conservative Government that is leading the agenda.
George Eustice, Secretary of State for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, is MP for Camborne and Redruth.