NFU president says UK food production ‘a moral duty’

The UK’s contribution to global food production will become increasingly important to ensure global sustainability, NFU president Peter Kendall is expected to argue in his opening address at the union’s centenary conference in London later today.

In a copy of his speech seen this morning by Farmers Weekly, Mr Kendall will argue that it is “of primal importance that the world has the ability to feed itself”.

“It seems to me that developing the agricultural potential of this country to its fullest, is actually a moral issue,” he will say.

Mr Kendall is expected to set five challenges for the industry and government:

• Recognising the importance of science in meeting the production challenges of the future
  
• Investment to increase production while decreasing farming’s environmental footprint
  
• Creating a sustainable and secure supply chain
  
• Joined-up thinking to provide better regulation
  
• A simple and more common, Common Agricultural Policy

He is also expected to call for a joint NFU and government initiative to draw up a new vision for agriculture “one that looks forwards not backwards. One which sees agriculture and horticulture as the high-tech, science-based industries they are.”

• Farmers Weekly Interactive will be reporting live from the NFU Centenary Conference