‘Mandate for change’: UK food and farming system to be scrutinised
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Sir Ian Cheshire, chair of Barclays UK, will chair the RSA Commission. He will lead the Commission’s work on what a new system could look like.
It will look at protecting standards and securing food supply; reforming public investment and the livelihoods of rural communities, and making the most of any new trading opportunities.
The programme is hoping to develop a mandate for change for food, farming and the countryside for the UK, shape a system that is fairer and aligns more closely with UK population’s expectations, and demonstrate how national policy can achieve change at local level.
Sir Ian Cheshire said: “We will recommend how the UK should shape its food, farming and countryside policy and practice after Brexit, as a country which imports 40% of its food and where, until now, EU policy has defined the farming sector and our natural rural landscapes.
“Leaving the Common Agricultural Policy will mean we need a whole new approach to how government ensures rural land – about 70% of which is farmed – delivers the greatest long-term benefit to UK society. Our food system is at the centre of this debate, and there are significant implications for the UK’s nations, regions and communities.