Farming and Food Security

Debate between Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Ben Goldsborough

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

It is an absolute honour to follow the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage). Hearing her speech and her passion and dedication, not just for the area she lives in but for the environment in general, is inspiring for everyone in the House, so I congratulate her on her maiden speech.

[Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (North Cotswolds) (Con)]

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I would like to pay tribute to my neighbour, the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage), for an excellent maiden speech. I am very glad that she appreciates the huge beauty of parts of my former constituency. I know that she will represent it well. I was very sorry to lose it. I have many friends in that constituency and I wish her well.

[Ben Goldsborough]

It is lovely to hear a bit of cross-party action to start off; I will try not to spoil that tone.

Today’s debate is a vital one on the future of not only South Norfolk’s food security but that of the UK. For too long, those who have put food on our table have worked our land but sadly been taken for granted. I stand here as the first Labour MP for South Norfolk in 74 years. That should show the House that rural communities up and down the country have wanted change, and it is for us to prove that we are ready to take up that mantle.

In South Norfolk we are lucky, because we have the innovation of the Norwich research park. Those who are local—I can see nodding from the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman)—will know that these are the centres of excellence that will drive our agriculture forward in agritech and high-end industry. The innovation of the John Innes Centre is second to none as it strives to meet the increasing demands and pressures on the national and international food security system. The gene editing techniques that it has been developing and working on have the potential to transform British agriculture by increasing yields and crop resilience, and to help us face the climate crisis that we are all heading towards.

I welcome the news from the Front Bench that the Government will be taking action on precision breeding. That is a great step forward in what we needed to see. There is an incredible opportunity in the heart of South Norfolk to transform our food security and to support farmers on the frontline who are dealing with the consequences of climate change in producing more food with less impact on the environment.

As we address the challenges facing our farmers and the urgent need to secure our food supply, it is important to highlight the amazing work of the Earlham Institute. The Earlham Institute is a beacon of life sciences training and innovation, and its contributions are vital to tackling food insecurity and safeguarding our future. Its cutting-edge research is developing the latest tools and approaches to monitor and predict how diseases evolve and spread. This kind of knowledge is critical for the future of British farming, as it will allow us to anticipate and mitigate the risks that threaten our food security. The Earlham Institute’s contributions go far beyond research. It is also a hub for training the next generation of scientists and ensuring that Britain remains at the forefront of life sciences and agricultural innovation. I am immensely proud to represent the constituency that is home to such important institutions. The Earlham Institute is doing the hard work necessary to safeguard our food security and supply.

Faced with the challenges of water security—sadly, I note that that was missing from the Opposition’s motion—farmers tell me when I meet them that there is a huge barrier in the way of their collecting the water that they need and building the reservoirs that they want on their land because of action taken by the Environment Agency. Why on earth should we stand in the way of farmers who want to protect their land from drought, while also protecting local areas from flood risk, by capturing water to use at a lower cost than tapping into the mains water that we all need? I hope that my Front-Bench colleagues will work with me to secure planning reform on this issue, so that we can build more reservoirs on farming land to help with food security.

Farmers have also raised concerns with me about biodiversity net-gain regulations, which are currently slowing down our progress on food production. I recently visited Fischer Farms, just over the border, and it is a great step forward. I hope that we can adopt these measures.