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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support rural jobs in diversified farming and local processing.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is supporting rural jobs in diversified farming and local processing through a Skills Review to identify workforce needs and skills gaps. We are working with the Department for Education, Skills England, training providers and industry to strengthen pathways into farming through qualifications, apprenticeships and vocational training.

We are also investing in agri-tech and innovation, through programmes such as the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), to help businesses adopt new technologies, improve productivity and create high-skilled jobs across farming, food production and local processing, supporting a skilled and resilient rural workforce. £123 million has been allocated to the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) for grants launching in 2026/2027.