The task of increasing world food production by 50% by 2030 is “achievable”, according to the English Farming and Food Partnership (EFFP).
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Speaking at the EFFP’s annual ‘Food in a Challenging World’ conference yesterday (6 October), chief executive Sion Roberts said the target can be achieved by using less energy and water, while responding to pressures from climate change.
“We have to, over the next 20 years, produce more and with less. There will be a drive to try and deliver that agenda. In the longer-term, there are an awful lot of challenges,” he told attendees.
The conference followed the government’s food security assessment published in August, showing that the UK faces challenges to ensure the sustainability of its food supply.
The study suggested a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to a changing climate here and overseas that will affect what food can be grown and where and how it can be grown.
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By GlobalDataIt also highlighted the availability and effective use of water to produce food – the need to get more crop per drop – and the depletion of fish stocks.
However, Roberts suggested that once the economy recovers, it will not be a case of “back to business as usual”.
“The new normal is not the same as the old normal,” Roberts said. “The sterling has got a lot weaker, for farming, it is going to be higher prices for inputs as well as outputs. Particularly for food companies, it’s going to be a case of higher input prices. There needs to be a focus on providing value to consumers and to gain a competitive advantage from the supply chain by working together.”
