To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage British farmers to increase grain production.
Answered on
6 April 2022
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges in the past few years. The UK is highly self-sufficient with 88% of cereals consumed in the UK in 2020 produced domestically. The UK also produced 14 million tonnes of wheat in 2021, close to the volume of wheat consumed, and has stocks of 1.7 million tonnes. The UK also has access to global markets to buy and sell cereals.
It is not Government policy to determine which cereals or other crops farmers should prioritise to include in their rotation. In 2021 we permanently removed Basic Payment Scheme 'greening measures' on crop diversification and ecological focus areas, meaning when growers are making crop planting decisions, they are free to react to market signals.
We are in regular contact with representatives in the arable sector – including the National Farmers Union, major grain traders, seed and fertiliser suppliers – to discuss any potential pressures on domestic production and impacts of recent global events on supply chains. We will keep the situation under review.