Rishi Sunak has told farmers: “I have your back” at the National Farmers Union conference, as he promised to “change the culture” in government around farming.
Sunak was the first prime minister to address the NFU conference since Gordon Brown in 2008, and had brought three Defra ministers with him to put the Conservative case to farmers.
Farmers say recent flooding that has hit the UK could lead to a significant hit on food production.
Sunak committed to improving food security in the UK and expressed concerns about low self-sufficiency in “things like tomatoes, pears, plums, lettuces and apples”. Sunak also said he had “once milked a cow”.
He took two questions from the audience. Replying to one farmer, Hannah, from Hertfordshire, he admitted that allowing farmers to trade with the EU was a “work in progress”.
He said: “We are working very hard with individual countries to ease all those areas in which there are differences. I’ll be totally honest, it’s a work in progress.”
Farmers have been critical of trade deals undercutting their business, including the free trade deal with Australia and the prospect of importing Canadian pork and Mexican beef. Sunak said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting you and making sure that you are not undercut.”
He expressed sympathy for those who had been affected by recent floods that had wiped out thousands of acres of crops. “It’s always devastating when that happens,” he said.
Later, David Eudall, economics and analysis director at the Agricultural and Horticulture Development Board, told the conference that the rain would cause huge problems. “In previous years when we’ve seen this [level of rainfall], like 2019-20 when we had a very similar wet period through the autumn and winter for planting, we saw a 24% reduction in the planted area. Considering we’re in a similar area and have similar weather pattern we’d expect we’re going to see a similar magnitude of scale.”
The Environment Agency chair, Alan Lovell, faced an angry reception from farmers who said the EA had worsened the flooding situation. He responded: “I take issue with the idea that water comes from the EA: water comes from above.” He also revealed a new inspections regime for sewage works, to restore checks to their level in 2010, before cuts by the Conservative party.
Recent polling from the Country Land and Business Association found that people in rural areas are defecting to Labour in huge numbers, with the party’s share of the vote having climbed to 37%, up 17 points on the 2019 general election result, and the Conservatives’ share falling 25 points to 34%.
More respondents in the poll believe Labour understands and respects rural communities and the rural way of life than the Conservatives (28% v 25%). The Conservatives hold 96 of the 100 most rural seats but face losing more than half to Labour and the Liberal Democrats, including those of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Jeremy Hunt and Thérèse Coffey.
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Minette Batters, leading her last NFU conference as president, said the farming vote was still up for grabs and asked for Brexit-related labour problems to be solved.
“Which party will introduce a minimum five-years seasonal workers scheme and recognise that we need more people if we’re to continue providing the raw ingredients for the country’s largest manufacturing sector?” she asked. “Which party will formally commit to sourcing more food from British farms? For our schools, hospitals, our military?”
Batters alluded to protests in Wales, where farmers have been blockading roads with their tractors over plans to force them to plant 10% of their land with trees. She said: “I have watched and listened as the Welsh government try and deny our members and their children the farming futures they had planned.”
The next big battle for the NFU is against the supermarkets, which they accuse of intimidating farmers and striking unfair deals, which cause them to go out of business.
Batters said: “There are still many of our members who will not raise a complaint for fear of being delisted by supermarkets. Conference, this is wrong. It’s unfair, and totally unacceptable. In my last address as NFU president, I have a message to all food retailers and, most importantly, to their shareholders. You have a duty to your farmers and growers. They have a right to earn a fair price. For what they produce for you to sell. This means the culture at the top of food retail has to change. Right now, the badge of honour sits with an often ruthless buyer for negotiating the hardest deal [with] suppliers. Retailers should find them more than that.
“That badge of honour needs to be worn by responsible board members who recognise the importance of long-term supplier relationships. But it’s really that we need a blueprint for action. My suggestion is that the Groceries Code Adjudicator survey of supplies is used to create a new framework. This would embed retailers’ ethical responsibilities to farmers and growers within their businesses, environmental sustainability goals and corporate social responsibility.”
