The government has included agri-tech and precision breeding as key elements within its Industrial Strategy published today, marking a huge win for the NFU and UK farming industry.
The Industrial Strategy forms a ‘central pillar’ of the government’s growth mission. The food and drink sector is already worth £146 billion to the national bank and supports jobs for more than four million people.
The NFU lobbied government departments hard, including the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), to get agriculture included to help boost its value to the country even further.
Having agri-tech and precision breeding technology as areas of focus within the growth sector plan means there should be greater opportunities for farmers and growers to contribute to the government’s growth agenda, increasing their ability to create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost productivity and drive investment in sustainable food, fibre and energy production.
NFU Deputy President David Exwood said: “Since winning the election almost a year ago, the government has repeatedly said it wants to deliver growth. As the backbone of the food and drink industry – the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – farming is in a great position to contribute to this.
“The UK agriculture sector is world class with innovative and tech-hungry farm businesses. With the right investment, farming has the potential to be a key driver in future growth and that’s why we have been pushing hard for it to be included in the Industrial Strategy. We already have proposals within our Blueprints for Growth to support the government’s goals and intend to feed these in as part of next steps.
“This focus on agri-tech should help farming businesses become more productive, sustainable and resilient, and ultimately deliver even more for the British people and the government’s growth ambition.”