New Farming and Food Partnership Board aims to boost productivity, profitability and UK food security through closer collaboration across the supply chain.
The UK Government has launched the Farming and Food Partnership Board to reset the relationship between growers, the food industry and policymakers, as pressure on farm profitability and food security intensifies.
Bringing together senior leaders from farming, food manufacturing, retail, finance and government, the new board aims to drive growth and investment across the food chain. Ministers say it will give growers a stronger voice in shaping policy at a time of rising input costs, climate volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds will chair the board, with Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle as deputy, as it takes a more commercial, outcomes-focused approach to policy development from primary production through to processing and retail.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:
When farming thrives, the whole country benefits. British farmers are central to our food security, our rural economy and the stewardship of our countryside.
Baroness Batters’ Review underlines the need for government, farming and the food industry to work much more closely together. That is exactly what the new Farming and Food Partnership Board will do.
This is about serious action to remove barriers, unlock investment and make the food system work better, so farm businesses can grow, invest and plan for the future with confidence.”
Profitability review underlines need for action
Its launch coincides with the publication of Baroness Minette Batters’ Farming Profitability Review, which warns that without clearer direction and better collaboration, farm businesses will struggle to invest and scale. The review calls for a more joined-up approach between government and industry to unlock long-term profitability and resilience.
Baroness Minette Batters added:
I want to thank all those that have responded to the Farm Profitability Review and I encourage everyone to read the Review in full.
I’m pleased that the Secretary of State recognises the need to establish a new approach to growing the British brand at home and abroad by producing, creating and selling more from our farms in a measurable way.
With ever more extreme weather, the horrific, ongoing war in Ukraine and 69.7 million people in the UK now is the time to deliver food security as national security.”
Alongside the board’s creation, the government has outlined a series of immediate interventions aimed at unlocking growth across farming and food production. Planning reform will be used to prioritise food infrastructure, with changes to national policy designed to speed up approvals for on-farm reservoirs, polytunnels, greenhouses and farm shops.
Ministers are also signalling tougher scrutiny of supply chain practices, including potential changes to the oversight of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, as well as new efforts to attract private finance into agricultural transformation and productivity projects.
Export growth is another priority, with ministers confirming plans to lead trade missions in 2026 to promote British food and drink in overseas markets.
The board’s work will feed into a new 25-Year Farming Roadmap, due next year, setting out the government’s long-term vision for farming and food production. As part of that process, the government will publish a formal response to the Farming Profitability Review following further engagement with the sector.
Related topics
Environment, Food Security, Recruitment & workforce, Regenerative Agriculture, Regulation & Legislation, retail, Supply chain, Sustainability, The consumer, Trade & Economy, World Food
