Vertical partnerships across the food chain involving farmers with a detailed understanding of data and closer links with UK universities and research institutes are vital for UK agriculture to thrive in a post-Brexit world.
Independent economic analyst Sean Rickard said there was a real opportunity for the UK agri-food industry to prosper in the new era but to do so would require a very clear and determined strategic focus. The UK agri-food sector is the largest industrial sector, contributing £121bn (9.4%) to GDP. Though it supports the livelihoods of 4 million people, it has a trade deficit.
Outlining his “Rising to the Challenges: A Food Policy for Global Britain” report, Mr Rickard said the UK needed to meet 3 challenges:
Mr Rickard said the UK needed to be more competitive internationally, citing the Dutch food and farming industry, with distinctive, value-added food products are produced in a super-efficient farm sector.
Sustainable agriculture was the way forward, he argued, citing the need for a dramatic increase in natural resource productivity (more output per unit of land, water and energy), that could be achieved through technological advances, including agri-biotechnology and precision technology. This needed to be allied to greater technical efficiency – the ability for experienced and educated farmers and staff to make key decisions around adopting and applying new technologies while engaging in network relationships. Vertical partnerships could not be made overnight but took time to ensure there was a fair governance system for sharing information rewards and indeed risks of specific investment to create distinctive products.
Generous funding for emission reducing poultry initiatives
Transforming waste food into animal food using carbon cutting technology and insects has enabled one fly farming company to scoop a £5.9m award from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The report was commissioned by KW Feeds, Trident and ABN. Danny Johnson, ABN Commercial Director (Compounds) said the farmer of the future needed to be well equipped to deal with complex data and technology, which was why the firm had consistently supported the National Farmers Union’s Poultry Industry Programme (PIP).The PIP initiative provides young poultry producers with the opportunity to gain a range of leadership skills and experience.
Richard Cross, commercial director KW Trident, said the poultry industry had been great at understanding what the industry needs but that other sectors were following suit. It was vital for university students to spend time on farms understanding the practical challenges facing farmers as well as getting out into schools to teach about food provenance and improving the attractiveness of the industry.
Notifications
Your Privacy Matters
It's your legal right to choose which information a website may store and have access to. With your permission, we and our third-party partners (23) store and/or access information on a device, such as unique identifiers in cookies and browsing data to collect and process personal data.
We and our partners do the following data processing:
Store and/or access information on a device, Advertising based on limited data and advertising measurement, Personalised content, content measurement, audience research, and services development
If you accept any or all of these, you will have agreed to this website's use of cookies for these purposes. You may also choose to refuse consent, but certain personalized features of the site won't be available to you.