These are just some of the fields that
produce the UK's food. But the farmers
that work them are concerned that in a
crisis like war or another pandemic,
what they harvest won't be enough.
>> We are saying that as a country, we are
criminally underprepared in terms of
food security. There is complacency on
behalf of the government and there is an
assumption that farmers will just keep
producing food. We have no plan what we
do in the event of a crisis. There is
nothing there. We're just leaving it
entirely to the free market. We're not
doing that with defense. We shouldn't be
doing it with food.
>> The pandemic was the first time in
decades that shoppers saw empty shelves.
But if it happened again, could we feed
ourselves without relying on imports?
1984 was considered the height of
British self-sufficiency, where we
produce 78% of the food we need. But
last year, that figure was only 65%.
And it's fruit and vegetables that we
struggle growing the most. Just 1% of
farmland is used to grow them. And as a
result, Britain grows only 15% of its
own fruit and 53% of its vegetables.
[Applause]
To tackle this, the government says it's
allocated 11.8 billion pounds to food
production and it's extended seasonal
workers visas to boost labor. But like
the farmers, retailers also want the
government to go further.
>> I do agree that challenges in the supply
chain have definitely increased over the
last few years, primarily due to climate
change and global events around the
world. And where I definitely agree with
the farmers is that there's a huge
opportunity here for government to
invest in our supply chains, which is
good news to reducing those challenges
of getting food and drink on our
shelves, but also injecting some growth
in the British economy.
The UK runs on the food produced in
these fields, but as farmers come under
increasing pressure, their message is
clear. Produce more to prepare better.
Amelia Harper, Sky News.