Although  the British Crop Production Council (BCPC) has welcomed Defra’s intent to develop ‘an overarching plan to make the food system more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable’ it says some important points are missing. These are an  appreciation of the long-term effects of current practices in food production and of the potential effects of predicted changes, particularly in world population and climate. 

Responding to Defra’s consultation on the developing plan, BCPC warns that “The main aims appear to reflect a short-term view, with comparatively minor variations on ‘business as usual’ and that will not do. Food security should be at the top of the Government’s agenda. Issues of sustainability are of increasing relevance to food security. A food security policy has to be underpinned by systems of production that are biologically and geologically sustainable in the long term.”

“Key questions such as ‘How will farming have to change in a world of 9 billion people?’ are absolutely fundamental to planning a food production system for 2030 and beyond.” highlights BCPC. “Over the last 50 years, population growth and changing food consumption patterns have increased demands on crop production. Grain production per person has increased by 17%, population by 117% – and yet only 12% more land has been cultivated. That has been possible because agricultural technologies have increased per hectare yield by over 120%. How will this momentum be maintained?” 

The concern is that the proposed plan does not effectively address key issues such as the supply of essential inputs – plant nutrients and fuel – that are not being replaced or recycled. “To be fair, some of the ‘bigger issues’ are mentioned in later sections of the draft plan,” says BCPC. “But the way of dealing with them should be apparent in the policies and proposed actions throughout. The challenges should be reflected in every section and at the forefront of the whole discussion. Unfortunately this is not the case. Government must accept that science and technology will play a fundamental role in all this and that a great deal of research and development will be needed if the problems are to be quantified and solutions found.”

Commenting on the synergy with other recently published reports, Dr Colin Ruscoe, chairman of BCPC was pleased that, “there have been encouraging signs of increased investment, but more needs to be done to reverse the effects of reduced R&D funding, by successive UK governments, over several decades. In response to the EFRA Committee’s report on ‘Securing food supplies up to 2050’,the Government has just confirmed that Defra must help UK food and farming industries increase production of commodities best suited to domestic production. And now The Royal Society is calling for crop science research funding of £200 million annually from the research councils, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), DFID and Defra over the next ten years.”