TO BE PUBLISHED December 2024
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Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will discuss next steps for strategy, policy and action on food security, and priorities for the new Government.
With the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs citing food security as a key concern, delegates will discuss latest thinking on what is required to address key issues moving forward. They will also consider practical implications of the Government’s plans to introduce new laws to support precision breeding technology, and examine its potential to increase food production and reduce farmers’ costs.
Stakeholders and policymakers will assess priorities for agricultural funding budgets, opportunities for international agreements, cross-government working and building supply chain resilience to global shocks.
Delegates will discuss what government proposals to treat food security as a key part of national security could look like in practice, including strategies for increasing domestic production and building on policy to support the local sourcing of food. The Government recently announced new measures aiming to provide stability to producers, including confirmation of Seasonal Worker visa route numbers for 2025, measures to help farmers deal with the impact of avian influenza outbreaks, and legislation to mandate sheep carcase classification and price reporting.
Sessions will also examine the strategic direction of policy relating to the use of land and nature restoration, next steps for managing climate adaptation in the food system, and infrastructure and planning priorities to mitigate the effects of climate change, including flooding, as well as strategies for supporting manufacturers to deliver growth in the transition to net zero.
The future make-up of the workforce and policy for skills development will be discussed, including enabling the use of innovation and improving knowledge transfer across farming to support the transition to new methods.
Further sessions will look at policy options for tackling key issues with food insecurity in the context of cost of living challenges, as well as strategies for addressing food poverty and access to food for households. Discussion is expected on enabling access to healthy and affordable food ranges, approaches for local government and the third sector to support local communities, and next steps for free school meals and the role of education in healthy eating habits.
The future for accountability in addressing food security will be also discussed, with stakeholder calls for Defra’s United Kingdom Food Security Report to be published annually. Delegates will consider options for monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of new policy approaches, following plans from the previous government for a Food Security Index and ambitions during election campaigning to have a legally binding target for improving food security.
We are pleased to be able to include keynote sessions with: Dr John Ingram, Senior Researcher, Food Systems Transformation Research Group, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford; James Kane, Associate, Institute for Government; and Prof Christina Vogel, Professor, Food Policy and Director, Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London. Further senior contributors are being approached.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. Those due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons and officials from Defra; DAERA, NI; Department for the Economy, NI; FSA; FSS; CCC; APHA; DESNZ; DBT; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government.
