Tech and innovation drive to boost food production and back British farmers

Today the Government will set out the Food Strategy which will back British farmers and food producers by helping to increase domestic food production, create jobs, and grow the economy.

Currently, the UK only produces 15% of tomatoes supplied domestically, but new generation technology, such as sustainable and efficient glasshouses, has opened up new opportunities for British producers which will help to reduce reliance on overseas production.

The plans outlined today – including incentives for industry and investment in research - will support farmers to harness this innovation to boost home-grown fruit and vegetable production, and in turn create new job opportunities across the country.

In light of the consequences of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine for the global economy, which has caused knock on impacts for food supplies as well as spikes in prices, the Strategy will also set out the importance of maintaining and boosting our food security, including plans to strengthen the resilience of our supply chains and boost domestic production to help protect against future economic shocks and crises.

It commits to broadly maintaining the current level of food that we produce domestically and boosting production in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities – such as horticulture and seafood.

£270 million will be invested across farming innovation funding programmes until 2029, to unlock technologies to drive sustainable farming techniques which will help increase productivity and profitability and the sector’s long-term resilience.

As well as stepping up work with industry to identify ways to help more people into jobs all along the food supply chain, the strategy also sets out plans to create a new professional body for the farming and growing industry to step up professional training and develop clear career pathways, equipping people and businesses with the skills needed to run sustainable and profitable businesses.
 
As MP for Norwich North,  protecting our environment is one of my priorities. To find out more about what action I am taking both in Norwich and Westminster for this work, please visit: https://www.chloesmith.org.uk/myplan/environment

For further information on this announcement, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tech-and-innovation-drive-to-boost-food-production-and-back-british-farmers