VI Sponsor AIC calls for launch of new independent UK Food Security Committee

16 November 2023

To mark it's 20th anniversary, the AIC has commissioned a report. The findings call for an independent Food Security Committee to be established to shore up the UK agri-food sector's floundering productivity and sustainably bolster the nation’s food security.

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VI sponsor, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) – the agricultural supply industry’s trade association – has used the findings of a major report to call for an independent Food Security Committee to be established.

The independent report recommends that a statutory body is set up to provide oversight of the uniquely complex nature of agricultural productivity and food security.

Authored by Dr Marcus Bellet-Travers of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the report was launched at the AIC Conference in Peterborough on 15 November - the agri-food industry’s flagship event.

Robert Sheasby, AIC’s Chief Executive, says: “The unprecedented supply chain shocks of recent years exposed the fragility of the UK’s food supply and its deeply concerning lack of security. Productivity in the agri-food industry is complicated and no one policy or innovation drives its progression. It is the sheer breadth and complexity laid out by this independent report which has led AIC to call for the establishment of a UK Food Security Committee.”

Chaired independently, this statutory body would advise the UK and devolved governments on the drivers of food security and report to Parliament on progress made in enhancing the productivity and resilience of the UK’s entire agri-food supply chain – from pre-farm suppliers, farmers and growers, through to processors, manufacturers, food service and retailers.

Much like the Independent Committee on Climate Change, it would take a cross-Whitehall view of the policy direction taken by key UK and devolved government departments, aiding policy development and collaboration in support of our nation’s food security.

Mr Sheasby adds: “The oversight of such a body for the agri-food industry will significantly enhance our national food security for the long term, well beyond short-term parliamentary cycles.

“AIC would encourage the entire agri-food sector to back this report’s core recommendation and we look forward to collaborating with industry and government to make it happen.”

The demand is set to form a central pillar of AIC’s lobbying efforts as it prepares for next year’s General Election.

To view the full report, visit the AIC Website.