| answer text |
<p>Our fantastic British farmers are world leaders and carefully plan their planting
to suit the weather, their soil type and their long-term agronomic strategy. I understand
the increasing importance of farmers having access to crop varieties that are resistant
to climate change and variable weather conditions, to maintain crop quality and yields.</p><p>
</p><p>The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published in July 2023,
and addresses the 61 risks and opportunities identified in the third Climate Change
Risk Assessment. NAP3 includes dedicated responses to risks to domestic agricultural
productivity and UK food availability, safety and quality from climate change overseas.</p><p>
</p><p>One of these responses, the recent Precision Breeding Act, is a major step
in unlocking growth and innovation in technologies like gene editing and supports
Defra’s efforts to reinforce food security in the face of climate change. Through
the Act we want to encourage researchers and commercial breeders to be at the forefront
of capturing the potential benefits of precision breeding for British farmers and
consumers. For instance, research into wheat that is resilient to climate change is
currently underway at the John Innes Centre. Gene editing techniques have been used
to identify a key gene in wheat that can be used to introduce traits such as heat
resilience whilst maintaining high yield. This could help to increase food production
from a crop that 2.5 billion people are dependent on globally.</p><p> </p><p>Also
included in the NAP3, Defra’s flagship breeding research programme, the Genetic Improvement
Networks (GINs) on Wheat, Oil Seed Rape, Pulses and Vegetable crops identify genetic
traits to improve productivity, sustainability, resilience and nutritional quality
of our crops. The GINs also provide a platform for knowledge exchange for breeders,
producers, end users and the research base, and a means for the delivery of scientific
knowledge, resources and results to add value to wheat crops.</p><p> </p><p>The £270
million Farming Innovation Programme also supports industry-led research and development
in agriculture and horticulture. All projects support productivity and environmental
outcomes that will benefit farmers and growers in England. In our latest ‘climate
smart’ farming themed competition, we awarded over £11 million to projects investigating
novel approaches to growing and managing crops. Previous competitions have also supported
crop-related research.</p>
|
|
