Farming Road Map and Profitability Review Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lee Pitcher
Main Page: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)Department Debates - View all Lee Pitcher's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Farming Road Map and Profitability Review
Lee Pitcher Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. Questions are far too long. Show us how it’s done, Lee Pitcher.
Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)
I wonder if the Secretary of State agrees that for far too long farming has been undervalued because we have focused only on what goes out of the farm gate. We should focus more on the holistic contribution of farming—that is when we get good policy and can take our success forward for farmers.
Emma Reynolds
I could not agree more. We have to look at the agrifood sector overall. It is a huge part of our economy, employing 4.1 million people, and its gross value added is equivalent to the automotive sector. My hon. Friend is right that there has been a tendency to underestimate the value of farming. We have to look at it in the wider agrifood ecosystem and in the context of the GVA that the sector brings to the economy.