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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for (a) increased seed production and (b) expanded agricultural land acquisition for seed production for grain crops to be provided as aid to farmers in Ukraine.

Defra officials have been working with a range of businesses and trade associations who have an interest in re-opening and helping export grain and oilseeds out of Ukraine. The recently launched EU - Ukraine business matchmaking platform is just one programme that is helping facilitate logistics operations for exporting and importing goods to and from Ukraine. This tool will connect UK and Ukrainian businesses quickly to find pragmatic solutions to the export of agricultural produce from Ukraine, to support the Ukrainian economy and global trade, and alleviate this threat to food security. Defra officials and ministers have also arranged introductions to the Ukrainian government to facilitate support on a range of products, such as seeds and machinery, and continue to engage with the sector to support a coordinated approach.