The impact of rising farm inputs is yet to bite

The war in Ukraine has added to the pressures farmers are facing through increasing input costs of the three F’s; fuel, feed and fertiliser. These could be short-term impacts but they come at a time when the industry is facing longer-term upheaval due to reductions in post-Brexit farm support, labour shortages and the impacts of trade and environmental policies.

The combined effect of these factors is of concern if it has an impact on domestic food production. The globalisation of our diet and the increasing distance between our food demands and our ability to meet these domestically means that our food supply is likely to increasingly rely on imports (UK imports comprised 46% of the food consumed in 2020 ). Consequently, we need to consider the level of domestic self-sufficiency we have in temperate food production.

However, the political focus at the moment is on the cost of living crisis. What many politicians are missing is that this will only intensify if our domestic food security is undermined. We explain why this threat is very real.