Food security, just like peace, will need to be addressed

Here we are in spring and according to the Met Office figures the winter was the fourth warmest in Northern Ireland and Wales and eighth warmest across the UK. February was especially warm and that is why spring flowers and general budding are on the move so early. Despite the rain in February making it the eighth wettest on record, it was a drier winter than usual with January the ninth driest in England; especially dry in the South which of course includes West Sussex.

After a dark and gloomy December, January was the sunniest on record in England which really did shorten the winter and raise the spirits. There was also a split between east and west this winter with the west being gloomy and overcast whilst the east was much brighter. The three storms which came in quick succession at the end is what the winter will be remembered by, but now we can look forward to longer days, warmer weather and the joys of spring!

Not so in Ukraine. Having taken peace in Europe for granted for a very long time, the invasion and war in the Ukraine has shattered the concept that a major war in Europe was unlikely to happen again. With the horror of war on our screens every hour of the day, there is no escape from the brutality and suffering.

The support for Ukraine in the west is universal and everyone hopes that some miracle will allow the Ukrainians to persevere and hold off the Russian army, although the odds are overwhelmingly against them.

Farmers in the Black Sea region could see their spring plantings ruined if the war spreads to more rural areas, warn Sovcon, the market analysts in the region. Fertiliser will not be applied to winter crops if it’s too dangerous which is the case in many areas; the southern regions in particular. Spring planting should start soon and the same risks apply, which means that whilst the western part of the country known as the ‘breadbasket’ of Ukraine is relatively unscathed so far, things could change very quickly. This has huge implications for Ukraine and the effect of the war is to be seen in the global wheat market where prices rose to £260 per tonne at the end of last week; the highest ever. The repercussions of this war will affect farming business in a similar way to everyone’s daily lives; higher prices for all forms of fuel and energy and other inputs. In addition shoppers are finding food prices going up on the back of these higher input prices.

Our government has also been jolted by all this to reconsider our complacency for decades regarding food security. Suddenly the world has changed and whatever the outcome, will not return to the (we thought) predictable or comfortable past. Food security, just like peace, will need to be addressed and whilst extra effort and resources are put into our defence capability, minds will need to turn to the other fundamentals of life in this country and food security is right at the top of this list.

There will be huge changes taking place in the coming months as government reorganises priorities as suddenly the world is very different and some of the issues which have taken the headlines of late, matter rather less than the crisis in Europe and its effects. Budgets will no doubt need to change and any extra spending on defence, which is highly likely, will need to come from elsewhere or be paid for.

Coming on the back of the pandemic, the timing of all this could not be worse as coffers in Whitehall are depleted and borrowing more is perhaps unlikely? It is going to be a mammoth task to re-prioritise; work out the financial budget needed and put this country on the right footing to face a very different world. A degree of instability is the best we can hope for following Putin’s actions and as we have all moved to quickly to unreliable renewal energy, Germany’s catastrophic miscalculations are there for all to see. The reliance on Russian gas, closing nuclear plants and phasing out coal in favour of imported gas has been a huge mistake. However to show how the world has changed in a matter of days, Germany’s new Chancellor has transformed the German policy. A 100billion Euro increase in defence budget to meet NATO’s two per cent of GDP and their energy policy is being painfully changed. These are huge changes and show the gravity of the situation.

There is some good news too as our country as a leading member of Nato is now close once again to other European countries and silly nonsense such as the Northern Ireland agreement can be seen in perspective and hopefully solved. Having left the EU the notion that this country is simply a third country like any other with no need for special relations with the EU is wrong and that can be seen now.

There is a need for real leadership and the coming weeks and months will show who has the ability and nouse to lead the way.

Whilst all the help possible, both military and humanitarian is mobilised to help the Ukrainian people, I’m afraid that they are left to fight this war on their own.

I hope that on the back of this George

Eustice and his colleagues will give food production much greater importance in Defra’s thinking. Having started down the road of environment, bio-diversity and re-wilding, he must break free of the environmentalists’ shackles and stamp his authority on the department; something he has failed to do. Even climate change, dare I say it, takes a back seat whilst we plan sensible transition from oil and gas rather than the fanatical rush-at-allcost approach of the past.

To show how bonkers our world had become, here are just two examples. An incident last week demonstrated how we have been driven by single-issue groups. A cocker spaniel spent two days trapped in a badger set without food and water whilst his owners were told that they could be jailed under badger protection laws if they tried to dig it out. Firefighters spent 48 applying for a badger digging licence before the dog was eventually rescued after experts said there were no badgers in the area; in other words a disused sett!

Following the pandemic and as people are starting to get back to their offices, London’s Underground tube drivers led by their union thought it a good time to strike for more pay. With a huge drop in fares and government piling money into London transport, tube drivers are paid unbelievable wages with many earning more than aircraft pilots; the irony is that they are not needed. A big push for driverless trains is on the way and is long overdue and the RMT has now hastened that change.