Dame Angela visited NFU member Marion Regan's soft fruit farm in Kent this week, accompanied by NFU President Tom Bradshaw and NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board Chair Martin Emmett.
Following the visit, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “It was great to host the Farming Minister on one of our member’s fruit farms today and show how important horticulture businesses are for the health of our nation and economy.
“I hope this visit will help Defra champion the policies needed across government to build a resilient and productive food system”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
“We also made it clear that investment is sorely needed to overcome the multiple barriers to growth across the farming industry, from access to a skilled workforce to an enabling planning system.
“The Minister seemed receptive, and I hope this visit will help Defra champion the policies needed across government to build a resilient and productive food system.”
Need for certainty
The Seasonal Worker Scheme came under discussion as the NFU continues to call for the government to confirm the visa allocation for 2026 to give much-needed certainty to growers that sufficient workers will be available for next year's harvest. NFU President Tom Bradshaw impressed upon the Minister the importance of the scheme and representing that position to the Home Office. Before entering Defra, Dame Angela served as Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum at the Home Office.
With funding under the legacy Fruit and Veg Aid scheme due to come to an end this year, the NFU warned that, without this funding, some producer organisations may be forced to close. There is also the fear that producer organisations will have little time to respond to Defra's new approach, as the current scheme starts to wind down.
NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board Chair Martin Emmett said: “This was a great introduction for the Minister into our soft fruit sector and the horticulture sector more widely. We covered a lot of ground but I was keen to stress the need for certainty over seasonal worker visas, issues with the winding down of the Fruit and Veg Aid Scheme and future funding programmes.
“I’d like the thank our incredible hosts at Hugh Lowe Farms, Marion, Amelia and Tom, for taking the time to show us around the farm.”
During the visit, Dame Angela was shown how robotics is being used within crop protection, with plant health and pesticides discussed as an essential part of a resilient food sector.
The visit also focused on skills and training, the apprenticeship levy, and creating an enabling planning system. Reservoirs are often cited as particularly troublesome for gaining planning permission, despite the critical need to capture, store and treat water on farms and to reduce abstraction from watercourses.
