Cherilyn Mackrory Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth was delighted to attend the Prime Minister’s Food to Fork Summit at 10 Downing Street last night.
This regular summit is an opportunity for industry leaders to meet and discuss the challenges they face in ensuring food security, biodiversity, and profitability for the farming industry.
The Government used this summit to announce a new package of measures to support domestic food production, boost production, and recruit more farmers. This includes a new Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, an industry-led strategy boosting a sector worth £4 billion to the UK economy.
Cherilyn says:
“Last week I hosted an important roundtable meeting in Truro between representatives of DEFRA, the Rural Payments Scheme, and most importantly our fantastic local farmers, to whom we owe so much.
“A year ago, I spoke to farmers who told me that bureaucracy and funding are so often the barrier preventing them from getting on with the work and being successful. For too long farmers have been kept out of the conversation on how farming should be supported, but they know far better than we do what they need to succeed.
“Last year’s message from the farmers was the need to cut red tape and streamline the payments scheme to work for them. In Cornwall we mostly have small, family farms the schemes are not designed to help. Now we are introducing options to tailor financial support to the individual needs of the farmers themselves. We have the best of the business here in Cornwall, and I am pleased to say that the Government are listening and helping to keep them going, growing, and successful.”
During the Summit the Government additionally set out how it will support farmers affected by wet weather.
The successful Farming Recovery Fund will be extended to support farmers where wet weather has been especially damaging to their ability to grow and earn. This will be bolstered with £75 million to support internal drainage boards to accelerate recovery for farms impacted by storms, and to modernise and upgrade assets used to support rural communities and improve essential land management infrastructure such as flood defences.
More information about the Food to Fork Summit can be found here:
Government unveils major package of farming and food sector support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
