Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate market volatility in the agriculture sector.

We want to help farmers manage risks and plan more effectively. The best way of improving resilience in the farming sector is to support increases in farm productivity, promote better animal and plant health, and to make sure farmers have access to the tools they need to effectively manage their risk. Recognising that farm business incomes fluctuate year to year, Government expanded tax smoothing to five years in 2015.

We are reviewing what data may be needed to support the development of market-based tools to manage volatility - for example futures markets or index insurance tools which rely on transparent data reporting. We are also considering how to improve the Government’s response to major crises.