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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support food production nurseries in Harlow.

Our future agriculture policy will help farmers in Harlow to continue to produce food to high environmental and animal welfare standards.

The Government's Agricultural Transition Plan sets out how we will maintain the same level of investment for farmers in England, which is £2.4 billion a year across this parliament. We will reinvest money saved by reducing Direct Payments into improved and new environment schemes, as well as schemes which will help farmers get their businesses ready for the transition. These will include grants to invest in productivity measures, support to new entrants, supporting farmer-led innovation and improving farm resilience.

For example, we have launched a £1 million grant funding project to provide resilience support to farmers and land managers in England to help them prepare for the Agricultural Transition period that will take place from 2021-2027. The transition period will also give farmers time to adapt and prepare for our new schemes.

Some farmers might want help to work out how best to get their businesses ready for the agricultural transition. We are offering a range of interventions, including collaborative projects over three to four years, where farming and agri-food businesses work with scientists and researchers to carry out more fundamental research and development focused on high-priority strategic challenges – such as achieving Net Zero – with the potential to transform agricultural productivity in the long term.

In addition, we are continuing to work with farming organisations as we develop the Farming Investment Fund. This will incentivise and support the purchase of equipment, technology and infrastructure to support environmentally-sustainable farming and land management.