NFU responds to National Audit Office food supply warning

The NFU has backed a NAO (National Audit Office) report warning that threats to UK food supply chains, including disease outbreaks, cyber-attacks and extreme weather, are becoming more complex and more likely.

The spending watchdog said major disruptions are now more probable and set out a series of recommendations to improve resilience across the food system.

“We agree with much of the report, particularly that the shocks facing our food system are becoming more likely and more severe,” said NFU President Tom Bradshaw.

“The UK only has to look back to 2022 to remember the sight of bare supermarket shelves. If food security is national security, as the prime minister says, we cannot afford to see that repeated.”

Tom said food security had become taken for granted, but warned that climate change and geopolitical instability meant such confidence was now “a high-stakes gamble”.

The NAO found that, while Defra had taken steps to improve preparedness, it remained heavily reliant on private sector businesses to manage disruption.

It also concluded that too little had been done in recent years to strengthen supply chain resilience, and that plans for a severe food supply crisis lacked operational detail and industry involvement.

The report called for a more coordinated, cross-government approach, urging Defra to work more closely with the food industry and to learn from international examples.

“Strengthening the resilience of the food supply chain starts with the resilience of the businesses that produce our food, because farmers can no longer afford to bear these risks alone,” Tom added.

“That’s why we’re calling on government to back the Keep Britain Growing Loan, giving farmers and growers access to the working capital needed to produce next year’s food.

“In the longer term, statutory targets for domestic food production, similar to those in place for the environment, would help secure the UK’s food supply for the future.”