NFU calls for government to deliver on R&D promises

Farmers who battled against the elements to ensure the English wheat crop survived the torrid weather conditions of 2012 have seen high quality from their harvest but gathered a smaller crop, despite the good harvesting conditions.

The NFU has reported that as a net importer of food, the UK must start to produce more itself and has called on Government to deliver on its promises to improve long-neglected agricultural research and knowledge exchange to help weather-proof British crops.

“A reverse in the decline of spend for agricultural R&D is crucial if we are to increase production and impact less on the environment in years to come, particularly if extreme weather events become more frequent,” says NFU combinable crops board chairman Andrew Watts.

“Innovation and technology are vital in keeping crops healthy and resilient, yet this technology has been under a sustained and unwarranted attack recently, and the impacts could be grave for the industry. The last thing we want is for legislators to regulate the UK and EU out of arable production by undermining access to pesticides and products that will be vital to protect the crops of the future.

The NFU’s 2013 Harvest Survey, published this week, revealed that the overall wheat yield is up 16% on 2012, at 7.8 tonnes per hectare, and slightly up on the five-year average of 7.7 tonnes per hectare. However, total production looks set to be much lower than the 13 million tonnes produced last year.

Watts said that, as a result, we should expect to see the UK importing above-normal volumes of wheat for the second year running, but that the high quality meant much more of what has been harvested would be of value to the food industry this year.