Labour MP Emma Reynolds has used Back British Farming Day to reaffirm the Government’s support for farmers, highlighting a £65 million package designed to help the sector cope with drought and strengthen resilience for the future.
Marking the annual celebration of British agriculture, Reynolds said the Government was “supporting the people who feed our nation” and stressed the importance of domestic food production to Britain’s wider security.
Writing on social media, she said:
“This Back British Farming Day, we’re supporting the people who feed our nation.
“Following drought, we announced £65m to help farmers secure the infrastructure they need for the future.
“Food security is national security. We’re backing British farming, now and for the future.”
The £65 million package was announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham last month following prolonged dry weather and the driest July on record. It includes an additional £50 million for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and £15 million to support on-farm reservoirs and improve farmers’ access to water. Burnham and Farming Minister Stephen Morgan set out the measures on a visit to Cornwall.
Government says farmers should not carry climate risks alone
Burnham has made food and farming a central part of his Government’s approach to national resilience, arguing that farmers should not be expected to shoulder the growing risks caused by extreme weather without greater support.
Speaking after announcing the drought package, the Prime Minister described the summer as potentially the hardest for British farming “in a generation” and said the Government had to rebuild trust with the sector.
He said:
“I see food and farming as part of national resilience, national infrastructure.”
Burnham added that Britain needed to be able to guarantee its own food production over the long term.
Wider Labour plan for farming
The drought support sits alongside a broader programme of investment in British agriculture.
Earlier this year, the Government published a 25-year Farming Roadmap aimed at making English farming more profitable, productive, sustainable and resilient. The plan notes that farmers produce around 65% of the nation’s food, manage 70% of England’s land and underpin a £153 billion agri-food sector.
Further measures have included £345 million for farm innovation, technology and infrastructure, as well as a £30 million Farmer Collaboration Fund intended to help farmers cut costs and strengthen their businesses.
The Government has also redesigned the Sustainable Farming Incentive, arguing that support should be simpler, fairer and available to a wider range of farms.
Back British Farming Day
Back British Farming Day, organised by the National Farmers’ Union, is intended to recognise the contribution made by farmers and growers to the economy, food security, rural communities and the environment.
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle told this year’s parliamentary reception that farming needed to become more profitable if Britain was to maintain a secure domestic food supply.
She said:
“If we’re relying on farmers to put food on our tables, farming has to put money in the pockets of those who farm.”
Eagle also confirmed that the second window of the Sustainable Farming Incentive is expected to open on 22 September with an increased budget of £230 million, alongside £225 million for capital grants.
‘Food security is national security’
Reynolds’ intervention reflects a message increasingly emphasised by Labour: that supporting domestic food production is not simply a rural policy issue, but an economic and national security priority.
Recent extreme weather has added urgency to that debate. The NFU has warned that Britain has become less self-sufficient across many major food categories over recent decades, increasing concerns about reliance on international supply chains at a time of geopolitical and climate instability.
For Labour, the argument is that a more resilient Britain requires a profitable and productive farming sector — with farmers given the investment, water infrastructure and long-term certainty they need to continue producing the food the country depends on.
