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<p>As agriculture is a devolved matter, the resilience and sustainability of the agricultural
sector in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are matters for their respective devolved
administrations.</p><p> </p><p>In England, the Government has taken a number of steps
to strengthen the long-term resilience and sustainability of the agricultural sector.
We are offering ongoing payments and one-off grants to improve farm productivity,
benefit the environment and support sustainable food production. We have already seen
the number of agreements in Countryside Stewardship increase by 94 per cent since
2020 and now almost one third of farm holdings are in an agri-environmental scheme.
Landscape Recovery was also hugely oversubscribed, with all projects involving farmers
including tenants, and we opened applications to the next round of farmers and land
managers on 18 May 2023. The Sustainable Farming Incentive will open with a new and
improved, expanded offer later in summer 2023. Many farmers have also already applied
for £168 million of grant funding available this year to support investments in productivity,
animal health and welfare and the environment. Farmers affected by the phasing out
of Direct Payments can also receive free business advice and support through the Future
Farming Resilience Fund.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, at our recent UK Farm to Fork
Summit we announced:</p><p> </p><p>A further £12.5 million is being made available
in May to support research projects that will support environmental sustainability
and resilience on farms</p><p>Additional investment of up to around £30 million to
unlock the potential of precision breeding</p><p>A working group to bring plant breeders,
food manufacturers and retailers together to agree an approach that enables these
products to reach our shelves.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond this, we have invested £8 million
in research through our crop Genetic Improvement Networks over the last five years
to improve UK food security and environmental outcomes. We will build upon this through
substantial additional investment to unlock the potential of precision breeding, following
royal assent for the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act.</p><p>We have also
launched three farming innovation competitions since January this year, providing
a total of £21.5 million of funding. These measures will enable our future food and
farming sector to be more productive and resilient thanks to British science and innovation.</p><p>
</p><p>We will continue to work closely with the Food and Drink Sector Council, which
brings together leaders across the whole of the agri-food chain and across government,
on the issues that it plans to focus on for the next year including: the future of
food; sustainability; workforce challenges; and supply resilience.</p>
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