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DEFRA Unveils £345m Farmer Support Package And New SFI Offer
Defra has today unveiled a major £345 million package to back English farmers, combining a reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) with significant funding for innovation and productivity at the National Farmers Union conference in Birmingham. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds told delegates the government is responding to calls from farming leaders for partnership and greater clarity on subsidies and support. The announcement builds on earlier commitments to simplify
Strawberry Supplies Squeeze UK Supermarkets
The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has raised a clear warning for the UK fresh fruit market: strawberry availability could be tighter than usual over the coming weeks, thanks to persistent wet weather in two of Britain’s main winter sourcing regions, Spain and Morocco. Heavy rain, flooding and storms across Mediterranean growing areas — regions that normally supply a significant share of the UK’s imported soft fruit — have disrupted harvests and slowed movements to British wh
New High-Tech Vision Takes Aim at £43.5 Million Slug Problem
Slug damage is quietly costing UK arable farmers an eye-watering £43.5 million every year — and this year, researchers believe they’re closer than ever to turning the tide. A UK team led by the UK Agri-Tech Centre in collaboration with Rothamsted Research has identified a bright idea — literally — using multispectral imaging to spot the notorious grey field slug out on the soil. That’s big news for crops that are especially vulnerable at establishment when slug pressure is hi
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Sarah-Jayne Gratton
Sarah-Jayne Gratton
Britain’s Food Supply On A Knife's Edge of Crisis, Experts Warn
Britain’s food supply is flirting with instability in a way that would make any supply chain manager’s heart skip a beat, according to a new expert analysis. More than 30 leading food system specialists warn that chronic pressures coupled with a series of “shock events” could be enough to tip the UK into widespread food insecurity — and, in the worst-case scenario, civil unrest. The stark assessment — published this week in the journal Sustainability — describes the UK’s foo
UK Unemployment Set to Eclipse Pandemic High Within Months, Economists Warn
Britain’s jobs market is showing increasing signs of strain, with unemployment expected to climb above its pandemic-era peak in the coming months, according to leading economic forecasts. That sobering outlook comes amid fresh official figures showing joblessness near its highest point in half a decade. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the UK unemployment rate rose to 5.2 per cent in the three months to December 2025, its strongest uptick in ye
Food Sector Faces A New Reality As Health Trends And Supply Risks Take Centre Stage
The food and drink industry is being reshaped at pace, with fresh consumer habits and ongoing supply-chain turbulence top of mind for leaders across the sector. Image: Food Manufacture At the recent Business Leaders’ Forum held earlier this month, Lumina Intelligence’s insights manager Liv Warren set out three key pressures driving change : health trends, supply-chain risks, and shifting ideas of value. Consumer Behaviour On the health front, Warren highlighted a major swing
Record Valentine’s Demand Sends M&S Floral Sales Soaring
This Valentine’s season saw millions of romantic gestures across the UK, and Marks & Spencer’s floral range was at the heart of them. In fact, M&S reported selling more than 1 million Valentine’s bouquets in stores and online — its most successful floral performance to date. It’s a lovely headline, but the real story is what’s behind the blooms : a nearly two-decade partnership with a supplier that’s become integral to M&S’s floral transformation. A Partnership Rooted in Pass
Why Food Deserts Are a Bigger Issue Than You Think — And What Might Actually Fix Them
Across the UK, far from the leafy aisles of well-stocked supermarkets, there are communities where access to nutritious food is scarce — and for the poorest households that scarcity isn’t an abstract concept, it’s a day-to-day reality. That’s the stark picture emerging from The Grocer’s analysis of “food deserts” and how the sector and policymakers might solve the problem. What Is A Food Desert — And Who’s Affected? In the simplest terms, a food desert is a place where peopl
From Senegal To Supermarket: The Farms Feeding Britain’s Winter Veg Aisles
As the UK continues through the colder months, vast swathes of fresh produce in supermarket aisles — from spring onions to green beans and sweetcorn — trace their origins to an unexpected corner of the globe: two commercial farms in northern Senegal. Image: Barfoots Over recent seasons, these West African operations have quietly become major contributors to the British winter supply chain, shipping millions of vegetable units across continents each week to meet year-round con
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