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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of agroecology on (a) food security and (b) food prices.

Defra’s assessment of evidence on agroecological practices, including organic and other environmentally friendly systems, indicates that these approaches can enhance biodiversity and soil and biomass carbon at farm level. However, there are further profitability and food security considerations when balancing the lower yields agroecological practises often deliver versus volatile input costs associated with conventional farming.