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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase innovation in the rural economy; and if she will make a statement.

We want to unleash the potential of the countryside. Innovation is an important part of this.

Boosting productivity across the food chain will be a key part of the 25 year plan for food and farming. The £4.5m Sustainable Intensification Platform aims to take world class research from our universities to improve the productivity of our farmers. The £5m European Innovation Partnership under the Rural Development Programme will fund projects that link research, farming and forestry practices to encourage innovation. The Government is also investing £160m through the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies to take innovation from the research laboratory to the farm.