Gregory Campbell (DUP)

Bearing in mind the difficulties that farmers are facing, particularly those with rocky or infertile land, will the Minister have discussions with his colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to ensure that some of that land is used in ways that maximise the benefit to the farming community, as well as contributing to net zero?

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Andrew Bowie (Conservative)

I thank the hon. Member for his question. I can assure him that we are already engaging with the National Farmers Union; indeed, it has been working with the solar taskforce to enable us to work with farmers and understand their concerns. I am very happy to meet farming representatives from all parts of the United Kingdom to determine how we can best support them and reach our net zero objectives by the date we have set ourselves.

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Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat)

On land use for food production and achieving net zero, has the Minister done an impact assessment of the rising carbon emissions from the UK Government carrying on with their agricultural policy, which is reducing incentives for farmers to produce food? As a consequence, we will import more food. As things stand, we produce only 60% of the food we eat; importing more and more food will surely increase carbon emissions. Has the Minister looked into that, and done an impact assessment of it?

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Andrew Bowie (Conservative)

At the National Farmers Union conference just last week, the Prime Minister reiterated this Government’s commitment to supporting British farmers in their primary role of delivering food for the nation. It would be good to see the Liberal Democrats give their support to British farmers in so forceful a manner. We are absolutely determined to do what we can to support British farmers in continuing to deliver that food—and, indeed, to support the technologies that we need to reach our net zero commitments, which I am led to believe the Liberal Democrats still support.

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