Opinion: Government loans needed for business resilience

We’re a week away from the general election, and many breakfasts, lunches and dinners have been had on battle buses, in town halls during husting events, and in broadcast green rooms.

How many times in recent months have we heard political parties agree that food security is a critical part of our national security? There’s clearly been a massive shift in politicians recognising the importance of food security.

But this acknowledgement isn’t going to keep the nation fed or ensure farming and growing businesses can pay the bills and remain profitable and resilient for the future.

See also: NFU seeks £4bn budget for post-BPS era

Whichever party makes up the next government needs to develop and put forward practical policies which invest in a future where Britain’s farmers and growers can continue producing sustainable food, driving forward economic growth, providing jobs, and delivering on the nation’s environmental ambitions.

This is what will sway rural voters – action, not sentiment.

The single most vital element of this is the agricultural budget.

The new government needs to be clear and honest that this is an agricultural budget – a budget that isn’t just “money for farmers”, but which allows farm businesses to invest for the future and makes government aims around sustainable food production, food security, the environment and net zero possible.

If it’s an environment budget, they need to be equally clear and honest about where the stability is going to come from for the production and supply of food and our food security.

We need a clear strategy for feeding our ever-growing population. Trade will always be part of this, but producing a growing share of our own food from our own resources must be a strategic priority.

If political parties are willing to invest in agriculture, we can pay them back by delivering a growing share of the food we eat and enabling the delivery of the legislated environmental targets.

Alongside the agricultural budget, we need to see other key policies implemented, such as:

• Core standards within trade so we are competing on a level playing field
• A planning framework which genuinely enables a drive for productivity that will deliver for food production, while also reducing environmental risk 
• A water strategy which prioritises the protection of our best agricultural land and recognises the value of water as a strategic asset.

We need policies which help to deliver for productivity day-in, day-out.

As part of this, the NFU has been looking at measures that could help provide the financial support farming and growing businesses need to remain resilient in the face of some of the most challenging commercial and weather conditions in living memory.

One of these measures is the Farm Business Investment Loan scheme – a simple, government-backed loan scheme, modelled on the coronavirus business loans, which would provide significant help to support business resilience and investment.

These loans would then be spent on things like irrigation systems, land drainage, robotics, precision farming, the modernisation of farm buildings for better energy efficiency, investment in wind and solar power, and glasshouses.

This scheme would help farmers and growers with their cashflow, allowing them to invest in their businesses to become more resilient in the future.

They could also be the difference between some businesses surviving or not in the short term, so they can continue to produce great British food and contribute to our national food security at a critical time.