Fertiliser supply "critical for food security" says Select Committee report
Fertiliser's critical importance to food security has been emphasised by an influential group of MPs making recommendations to the Government on tackling food price inflation and supply challenges.
The report, Food Security, by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, addresses the availability and affordability of food following major price rises over the past year.
In November 2022 AIC's Head of Policy and External Affairs, Ed Barker, appeared before the Select Committee to give evidence on a wide range of issues related to UK food production and security.
In its findings, the report calls on the Government to produce an action plan within six months addressing several points related to fertiliser production and availability.
The report said that "given the importance of nitrogen fertiliser to UK food production and food security... the Government should take steps to support the increased production of nitrogen fertiliser in the UK, and in so doing examine the incentives offered by our competitors."
When asked by MPs at the hearing last November if the Government should consider ways to secure fertiliser supply, Mr Barker explained that competitor countries had already taken action.
"Given that Europe and the United States are intervening in their own fertiliser sectors directly, it seems completely remiss for the UK to do nothing," he told the panel.
Reacting to the report's publication, Mr Barker said: "We welcome the key findings of the EFRA Select Committee's report.
"AIC will continue to work with the Committee and MPs as part of its efforts to represent the interests of UK agri-supply businesses."
Other recommendations
The report also references AIC's evidence on a range of food and agriculture issues, and makes recommendations to the Government on how to tackle them.
It highlights that the UK "demonstrated a resilient food supply during some of the most challenging events in recent times, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic, the continuing Russia-Ukraine war and the UK’s departure from the EU."
Yearly food security summit
The Prime Minister should chair a dedicated food security summit later this year, the report says, adding that this should be an annual event.
"Each annual food security summit should, as a minimum, cover the five statutory aspects of food security as set out in the Agriculture Act 2020, with a particular focus on those of most relevance at the time of the summit," the MPs behind the report recommend.
Earlier this year AIC attended a Farm to Fork Summit at 10 Downing Street.
Food Security Report annual update
A fully updated edition of the UK Food Security Report should be published on an annual basis in advance of the annual food summit, according to the EFRA Select Committee.
"This should be accompanied by an action plan for at least the next 12 months on the steps the Government will take to improve food security. A progress report of the actions taken since the previous year’s action plan should be included in the UK Food Security Report," it says.
"Given the importance of food security, and the need for policy coherence and for strong leadership on this issue, we recommend that the Cabinet Office should undertake a comprehensive review of departmental responsibilities and structures regarding food policy and its various facets, and to publish its findings within 12 months of the date of publication of this Report."
Food security indicators
Working with the food supply chain, it is recommended that the Government develops a suite of food security indicators covering both inputs and outputs and set targets for them, which should in turn influence food security policy.
The report calls on the Government to outline its approach to this in its response and to launch the suite of indicators within the next 12 months.
Land Use Framework
The Government's Land Use Framework, which is anticipated to be published later this year, should not be overly prescriptive says the Select Committee.
"It should make clear what the Government’s priorities are and how it will help the private sector to achieve them. In particular, the Framework should address the current balance of land use between that used for pastoral and animal-feed on the one hand, and horticulture."
The Government now has two months to respond to the recommendations in the Select Committee's report. View the full report on the GOV.UK website.
Authors
Oli Hill
As Head of Communications, Oli creates and oversees the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media. A qualified multimedia journalist, he previously spent six years working at Farmers Weekly magazine as a Senior Reporter on the arable team, and latterly as Community Editor. More recently he was Communications Manager at Red Tractor.
