Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support apple growers as part of any post-Common Agricultural Policy arrangements after the UK leaves the EU.

Leaving the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will give us the opportunity to design a new system of agricultural support. Over the next few months the Secretary of State will continue to visit the British countryside and working farms to hear industry and the public’s views first hand to continue to inform post-CAP arrangements. This Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support for the duration of this Parliament, providing certainty to farmers.

The Government currently supports horticulture though the LEADER scheme within the Rural Development Programme for England. It expects shortly to open an additional new funding offer for farmers and horticulturalists to invest in a range of innovative equipment to help improve their productivity. This funding will be open to apple growers and could support production for both the domestic and export markets. Also, Defra funds the National Fruit Collection which includes about 3,000 apple varieties. Material from the collection is available to propagators and growers, providing an opportunity to produce heritage varieties for specialist markets and a genetic resource for breeding new varieties. The government also offers financial support to EMR, which runs a breeding programme.

The Government recognises that in order to stimulate innovative practices and increase productivity of sectors like top fruit, a strong research base is needed. Research can develop new innovative practices such as the 2013 agri-tech project looking into extending the availability and flavour-life of UK apples using innovative photonics. As part of the agri-tech strategy, £160 million has been committed to be co-invested with industry to address challenges in the agri-tech sector.