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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support homegrown produce following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce remains steadfast.

Underlining this commitment to our growers is our farming roadmap which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable.

Furthermore, we have now confirmed a 5-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route which will provide the sector the certainty they need to plan-ahead, having the labour needed to bring their high-quality homegrown produce to market.

We are also continuing support for crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) investing in R&D for breeding to improve crop varieties supporting crop resilience and efficiency.