Scottish Daily Mail

Farmers sowing panic over Brexit

Union stokes ‘no deal’ fears and calls for Britain to grow more of its own food to cut reliance on imports

- By John Stevens Deputy Political Editor

FARMERS have called for Britain to grow more of its own food amid fears of empty shelves in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.

The National Farmers’ Union sounded the alarm over figures that show the country has become less self-sufficient in the past 25 years.

It highlighte­d official figures showing Britain produced just 60 per cent of its own food last year, compared with up to 75 per cent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. NFU president Minette Batters said the impact of the recent heatwave has pushed concerns around food production into ‘sharp focus’ as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

‘This has been a real test for Government to show farmers and many concerned members of the public that they think that our ability to produce food in this country is truly important,’ she said.

‘We strongly believe that every British citizen should be entitled to a safe, traceable and high-quality supply of British food that is produced to some of the highest animal welfare and environmen­tal standards in the world. Home-grown food production must have the unwavering support of Government if we are to achieve this post-Brexit.’

Ministers have suggested food and medicines could be stockpiled to prevent shortages if there is a no-deal Brexit. But senior Tory backbenche­r Sir Bernard Jenkin yesterday insisted there would be ‘riots on the streets’ of Europe if border checks disrupt the supply of food to the UK.

He asked: ‘What will happen to the quarter of Dutch poultry farmers who sell their goods to the UK? Or the onefifth of Spanish tomatoes that comes to the UK? What will happen to those producers if the EU insists on putting up all these barriers?

‘They would be rioting in the streets at this perverse behaviour.

‘We have had all this before – it is the fear campaign because of course in the end people are rational economic actors and they will not want to put their own producers out of business. They will not want to impoverish their own farmers and food producers.’

Sir Bernard blamed officials in Whitehall for creating ‘unnecessar­y panic’ over the possibilit­y of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The civil service and the Government are feeding the industry and the industry is feeding the Government with this diet of gloom and alarm and despondenc­y.

‘Actually, it’s unnecessar­y and we will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about, a bit like the millennium bug.’ The NFU, which backed Remain in the EU referendum, called on ministers to take action to increase the production of home-grown food.

Mrs Batters, who was appointed the first female NFU president in its 110-year history this year, said: ‘The statistics show a concerning long-term decline in the UK’s selfsuffic­iency in food and there is a lot of potential for this to be reversed. If we maximise on the food that we can produce well in the UK then that will deliver a whole host of economic, social and environmen­tal benefits to the country.

‘The UK farming sector has the potential to be one of the most impacted sectors from a bad Brexit. A free and frictionle­ss freetrade deal with the EU and access to a reliable and competent workforce for farm businesses is critical to the future of the sector.

‘And as we replace the EU’s common agricultur­al policy, we must keep a sharp focus on what productive, progressiv­e and profitable farm businesses need from a domestic agricultur­al policy.’

Meanwhile, Downing Street insisted it is still the ‘most likely outcome’ that Britain will come to an agreement with the EU, after Internatio­nal Trade Secretary Liam Fox estimated there was a 60:40 chance in favour of ‘no deal’.

Mrs May’s spokesman said: ‘We continue to believe a deal is the most likely outcome because reaching a good deal is not only in the interests of the UK, it is in the interests of the EU and its 27 members.’

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