14:56 David Smith (Labour)

We have also said that food security is national security. In the world in which we live, the United Kingdom must be as self-sufficient as possible when it comes to the staples of life, so we must produce as much of our food chain in Britain as possible. That would be good not just for our food security and health, but for our efforts to tackle climate change. In fact, sheep farming in particular has a strong cyclical benefit with regard to recycling carbon emissions.

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15:03 Robin Swann (UUP)

“a resilient, vibrant and sustainable industry that uses leading edge technologies to deliver safe high-quality meat and wool through increased productivity while adding value by increasing carbon sequestration, reducing greenhouse gas intensity, and enhancing landscape biodiversity while maintaining the mosaic landscape of our hills and uplands and securing social cohesion.”

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15:26 Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat)

I have spoken before in this place about how many farmers are leaving the industry because they do not have the confidence to continue and about the impact that that is having on their mental health. Ninety-two percent of farmers under the age of 40 say that poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem that farmers face today, and those pressures will likely be compounded further by yesterday’s report that the Government are going to slash the nature-friendly farming budget. Not only would that seriously threaten many farmers’ livelihoods, but it would result in at least 239,000 fewer hectares of nature-friendly farmland, according to research by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The National Trust, the RSPB, and the Wildlife Trust warned before the election that the nature-friendly farming budget had to increase if the UK is to meet its legally binding nature and climate targets. Cutting it would be tantamount to ignoring our legal targets.

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15:43 Daniel Zeichner (Labour)

Finally, DEFRA supports the sheep sector through conserving valuable genetic resources to help to increase sustainable food production and help breeders to adapt to climate change and new diseases. DEFRA research is also exploring how genetics can help farmers to increase productivity while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

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