Herefordshire's National Farmers Union Chair backs calls to have more land to grow fruit and vegetables

A letter from environment groups says the UK must stop relying on imports

Author: Elliot BurrowPublished 23rd Jul 2024

Ministers are being told the amount of land available to grow fruit and vegetables should double.

A letter from environment groups says the UK must stop relying on imports by boosting the British farming sector.

It says at the moment, more land is used to play golf than to produce fruit and veg.

Martin Williams is the chair of the National Farmers Union in Herefordshire, and he says production such as apple-growing should be returned to the fields of the county and not from abroad.

"I think there needs to be an environment where a business growing those items can flourish and survive," he said.

"Herefordshire is very famous for its apples in particular, and acres and acres over the last couple of years have been ripped out because of the non-return on that crop.

"People just cannot afford to carry on growing below the cost of production, but I can't see a downside of investing more in fruit and vegetables, because it seems nonsense that you can't grow an apple in an apple growing county and make a profit, when you can bring it from abroad.

"If you can get your food system and your food strategy right, it will help with the health service, and that will then help with people's wellbeing."

We've approached the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs for comment.

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