Rishi Sunak told farmers the government is ‘by your side’ as he announced funding aimed at reducing British farmers’ reliance on foreign workers, emphasising the protection of their crucial role in the nation’s identity.
Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference on Tuesday, February 20, the Prime Minister pledged government support, unveiling nearly half a billion pounds in agricultural grants.
Mr Sunak was the first prime minister to address the conference since Gordon Brown in 2008, and took three Defra ministers with him to put the Conservative case to farmers.
Approximately £220 million will be allocated to future-focused technologies, including automation equipment aimed at decreasing dependency on overseas labour. This funding comes after Government officials have been inspired by innovative automation practices in farming, such as robotic asparagus uprooting and the potential use of drones for fruit picking.
IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE POLL ABOVE, CLICK HERE
Mr Sunak underscored the significance of farmers’ contributions, assuring them of his commitment to safeguarding food security.
‘It’s farmers who feed us, farmers who embody those British values of strength, resilience, warmth and independence,’ he said.
Mr Sunak stressed his credentials as an MP in a rural constituency, joking: ‘I even tried my hand at milking once, not very successfully, I must say.’
Mr Sunak said farmers work ‘not for praise or high reward, but to put food on our tables, to maintain a tradition and a way of life, and to steward our landscape’, adding: ‘On behalf of the nation, I just wanted to say thank you.’
The conference, in Birmingham, comes as farmers are struggling with rising costs, low supermarket prices and a new post-Brexit farm payments scheme that many say has focused on environmental policy over food productivity.
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. Mr Sunak said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting you and making sure that you are not undercut.”
His address at the NFU conference marks a departure from the norm, as prime ministers have typically delegated such speeches to environment secretaries in recent years.
However, this can be explained by Labour gaining ground among the traditional Conservative supporters in the countryside, as indicated by several polls showing the Tories lagging behind with rural voters.
So what do YOU think? Is the support for British farmers enough? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comment section below.
