Defra produces a number of statistics on UK agricultural productivity and these are published on the GOV.UK website.<\/p>
The land productivity index (calculated as total agricultural output divided by the amount of land in agricultural production) shows:<\/p>
| 2009<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2010<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2011<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2012<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2013<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2014<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Productivity by land<\/p><\/td> 98.1<\/p><\/td> 100.0<\/p><\/td> 103.8<\/p><\/td> 99.2<\/p><\/td> 100.7<\/p><\/td> 107.7<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> Index base year = 2010<\/p> Care needs to be taken in interpreting this measure, as agricultural output is determined by a number of inputs, both within farmers\u2019 control (eg. labour) and outside their control (eg. weather).<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3934", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for George Eustice"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the productivity of UK farmland; and if she will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424283", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424283/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Agriculture produces relatively small amounts of carbon dioxide emissions with this gas accounting for around 10% of emissions from the industry sector. The major greenhouse gasses (GHG) produced by agriculture are methane and nitrous oxide. Defra has engaged with the agriculture industry in England to help develop an industry led approach, the Green House Gas Action Plan, which includes farming sector roadmaps for reducing GHG emissions. We will be reviewing progress on the action plan with the industry next year.<\/p> The Government is investing £160 million in the UK Agri-Tech Strategy to help take our world class agricultural research to the farm. £60 million of Government and industry funding has already been committed to projects which aim to make farming more productive, resilient and sustainable.<\/p> Rural Development Programme (RDPE) funded capital grants are available for reservoirs to improve security of water supplies for agriculture (including horticulture) and reduce pressure on summer water flows in the environment Capital grants to improve efficiency of water application to reduce water use are also available.<\/p> Applications are also being processed for Countryside Productivity scheme capital funding for precision farming equipment to improve the accuracy of field operations and application of fertilisers and sprays, which can achieve savings of (typically) 5% plus in fuel, fertilisers and sprays with consequent reduction in CO2<\/sub> emissions.<\/p> Defra commissioned Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International to produce a report, entitled \u201cThe Economic Cost of Invasive Non-native Species on Great Britain\u201d, which was published in 2010. The report sets out the economic impacts of invasive non-native species to a range of sectors, including agriculture.<\/p> The Great Britain Non-native Species Secretariat undertakes risk assessments on potentially invasive non-native species and has completed 75 to date. These risk assessments consider the impacts on a wide range of sectors including agriculture.<\/p> An updated Great Britain Invasive Non-native Species Strategy was published in August which sets out a comprehensive framework for delivering action to address the impacts from these species.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent review her Department has conducted of the threat posed to UK agriculture by invasive species; and if she will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424290", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424290/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " We regularly discuss the situation in Syria and Iraq with the Turkish Government. I last met with my Turkish counterpart in August where we discussed the need to support a political solution in Syria and the Iraqi government\u2019s efforts to combat ISIL. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge has spoken with the Turkish Foreign Minister a number of times in the last month, where both Ministers made clear that the UK and Turkey would continue to cooperate closely on the situation in Syria and Iraq.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from his Turkish counterpart on the ongoing situation in Iraq and Syria; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424341", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for International Development"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424341/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Turkey hosts almost 2.1 million refugees from Syria, the highest number of refugees of any country in the region surrounding Syria. We commend the generosity that Turkey has shown towards those fleeing the conflict in Syria. The UK has allocated £34 million to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, including food, shelter and primary healthcare. The UK is also working in partnership with Turkish institutions on targeted projects to build their capacity to tackle irregular migration. The EU is currently working in partnership with the Turkish government to explore options for increased support to Turkey. The UK is engaged in this process.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance and support her Department is providing to refugees based in Turkey; and if she will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424016", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Energy and Climate Change"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/424016/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " As set out in the November 2013 Renewable Energy Roadmap Update, analysis indicated a potential deployment range of 7-20 GW (equivalent to 6-18 TWh) of solar PV at all scales, with 20GW being our estimate of the technical maximum level of solar PV deployment by 2020 on the basis of grid and other constraints. Solar PV in the UK was 8.007GW as of August 20151<\/sup>.<\/p> In the absence of cost effective storage, solar PV can make a contribution to meeting electricity demand but this will be limited by the nature of its diurnal cycle.<\/p> REF:<\/em><\/p> |