The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said it’s encouraging to see the UK government has recognised the importance of domestic food production in its National Food Strategy.
UFU president David Brown said: “The government’s new Food Strategy which sets out an analysis of the challenges facing the food system, has broadly committed to maintaining the current level of domestic food production and to increase it in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities, such as horticulture.
“It is encouraging and will help to boost the sustainable production of local, high-quality produce which our consumers value, across Northern Ireland.”
Mr Brown continued: “However, despite mounting fears that global shocks, especially how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left Britain’s food supply vulnerable, setting a minimum target for domestic food production has not been mentioned in the strategy which the UFU would have liked to see.
“Overall, it’s clear that the context for a food strategy has changed, leading to a renewed focus on both self-sufficiency and food security, and the vital role the primary producer has in sustainable food production. Now we need to make sure that government’s intentions turn into concrete proposals to tackle the major issues facing our country.”