PROPOSAL 1

The often-quoted figure that we are 60% self-sufficient in terms of our food security is in my opinion simply not good enough for an island nation with 70 million mouths to feed in unstable geopolitical times. Secondly the 60% figure fails to take into account full or closed loop/circular self-sufficiency, therefore the target metric for policy should be one of achieving ‘maximum practically achievable circular self-sufficiency’.

According to DEFRA we are 86% self-sufficient in beef production but we only grow around half of the feedstuffs required for winter feeding and finishing cattle in shed and we import calves from Germany and Ireland for herd replacement so the true figure is much lower in circular self-sufficiency terms.

Furthermore we are only 40% self-sufficient in Ammonia nitrate fertiliser production and have gone from being net exporters of hydrocarbons to net importers of these raw materials which fuel farming, transportation and the manufacture of fertiliser.

So, it’s clear that our strategic exposure is in reality much greater than the government figure would have you believe. Add to this the lack of our own secondary food processing capabilities due to offshore manufacturing and the full picture is revealed, we are critically dependent on other countries and reliant on geopolitical stability to keep us from starvation. This is utterly unacceptable and the situation has to change.

Aside from the strategic risk the lost opportunities for job creation and strengthening of our economy must be considered. For a country with a climate conducive to milk production it would seem common sense to produce our own yoghurt and to not sell milk to Ireland for butter and cheese making which we then have to buy back carrying outsourced manufacturing profit and transportation costs. Why don’t we just re shore and reap the economic benefits ourselves?

Policy framework should be focused at energy, agricultural input production, primary food production and secondary food processing self-sufficiency wherever practically possible. This would bolster our economy, create jobs, enhance our food security and save transportation and freshness miles. Therefore we propose:

i) Creation of a UK Food Security Plan with a policy focus on ‘maximum practically achievable circular self-sufficiency’ of all our energy needs, of all other inputs required for agriculture, of all primary production and of all secondary food processing.

ii) Production of an annual UK Food Security Audit aimed at clear presentation of our food security exposure across all agricultural commodities and food product types. Risks to be presented in percentage terms of full circular on shore self-sufficiency. A three yearly assessment as legislated for in the Agriculture Act 2020 is no longer sufficient.

iii) All new legislation relating to agriculture must undergo a Food Security Impact Assessment to ensure it complies with the main policy framework laid out under the UK Food Security Plan.