I am delighted to be able to speak to you today about the importance of food and farming in Kent. Truly the Garden of England.

This is a timely and welcome opportunity to speak to you at a time when we face the unprecedented global challenge of feeding the world and addressing major environmental pressures. 

Food production is a major priority for the Government. And I know it is equally important here in Kent. The fruit grown here has national significance – for instance I know that Berry Gardens supplied all the strawberries to Wimbledon this year!

But I also know that this is a challenging year for many farmers in Kent. The drought earlier this spring, the late frosts and now all the rain means that harvests will be variable. It’s possible that the apple and pear harvest could be down 20%. But I know that you will be taking the best possible approach to dealing with these problems.

Kent and UK farmers are – and should be – proud of what they achieve through environmental management of their land.

We know that the global population is set to increase by a third by 2050.

By 2030, the world will need at least 40% more food, 45% more energy, and 30% more water, and this will need to be produced in a way which impacts less on the environment.

As noted by the Foresight Report last year—this is the most important issue facing this generation.  More food must be grown – in a way that is sustainable.

Here in the UK, increasing the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of the whole food chain is a vital part of building a new, green economy. As farmers work together, consumers need to connect with food.

The Green Food Project that reported this week and has been chaired by Jim Paice is a really great example of the power of partnership. Again, diverse organisations coming together at national level to work out how to reconcile the need to grow more food with the need to protect the environment. To pioneer a new approach to policy making. To reach consensus on the issues that really matter in our food system.

The project looked at how investment, research and our approach to managing agricultural land can help us going forward, and at how we should ensure we have the right number of determined, entrepreneurial, skilled young people coming into the food and farming sectors to enable us to improve our performance in the future.

We want this sector to grow and flourish. We want to support rural-based food businesses through Local Enterprise Partnerships, and encourage the creation of local food hubs, bringing growers, processors and small food businesses together.

And here in Kent – you know this better than most.  You lead the way in providing us with some of our more traditional produce and innovate into relatively new market opportunities.   For example:

• English vineyards, including those in Kent, are now producing award-winning sparkling wines that regularly beat the finest champagnes in international competitions.
• With hopes for Olympic success firmly in our minds it is good to know that in Kent there are Gold winning wine producers in Hush Heath Estate and Chapel Down. With Hush Heath Estate’s 2008 Balfour Brut Rose chosen to be served at the 2012 Olympics.
• Kent is famous for its hops and here the golden theme continues with “East Kent Goldings” being considered for Protected Food Name status.  If successful, East Kent Goldings hops will join Kent’s three already protected products of Kentish Ale, Kentish Strong Ale and Whitstable Oysters.
• You have been busy updating your orchards and bringing newer varieties of apples to our tables –for example: Jazz, Braeburn and Royal Gala -- highly productive and tasty varieties at that.
• Your apples are so tasty and combined with the highly productive modern horticultural practices mean that we are now eating far more English apples than we were a decade ago. Increasingly replacing imports with sustainably produced local fruit.
• Kent has the largest and most modern glasshouse complex in England. The innovative hydroponic growing system is now producing a significant amount of our peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.

The importance of the agricultural sector in Kent and the UK is significant. 

Your 4,700 - or so - farmers directly employ well over 13 thousand people.   This equates to 4.5% of the total agricultural work force for England. Most of these are working in horticulture, adding value and helping us with our 5 a day.

In 2010, the total value of agricultural production in Kent was over half a billion pounds (£534m).   

Around a third of all the fruit produced in England is produced in Kent, with 40% of apples and pears grown here. Strawberries are making an increasing contribution too.

The estimated value of the agri-food sector suggests that it could be around 10 times higher than the value of agriculture alone.

But let’s be clear.  You now operate in increasingly global market places.  Here, at the gateway to the continent you will be familiar with the opportunities and challenges that this can bring.

Growth in such a market relies on increasing competiveness and innovating to ensure productivity can keep pace with demand.  That’s why on-going research is so important. Kent can be proud of what it offers through its universities and independent research centres such as East Malling Research, the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, the Natural Resources Institute, and the Centre for European Agri-Environmental Economics.

You need to attract skilled entrants to the sector to ensure the economic potential of the market in which you operate can be released. Your agricultural colleges and universities provide a vital service in developing this sector, equipping people with up to date skills and leading on research. These organisations receive funding from a range of sources, including Defra, BBSRC, the EU, industry, and levy bodies such as the Horticultural Development Company.

This is why Defra has re-focussed the remaining socio-economic resources (£100 M) of RDPE to meet the priorities of the Rural Economic Growth Review.

A total of £10.5m has been spent and committed to projects here in Kent – representing a total project investment of £33.5m

-       37 smaller scale “resource management” projects with a total RDPE contribution of £347,852.

-       40 large “business led” projects with a total RDPE contribution of £10.2m.

Much of this money being used to strengthen the resilience of local agricultural businesses and to help them to create jobs and create growth.

For example, of the larger business led projects,

• 5 were reservoir projects
• 22 were agri-food processing projects -17 of those principally to support investment in the horticultural sector for improvements in collaborative fruit packing, grading and cold storage.

And we need this type of investment to ensure that the UK and Kent can continue to lead by example in delivering sustainable high quality food production.  

But we also need cutting edge “blue sky” research to satisfy the aspirations of entrepreneurs in the industry. 

And alongside this - we need applied research to enable the wider industry to become more competitive while also improving environmental performance.

We recognise the need for greater strategic co-ordination and allocation of agri-science funding to achieve an optimal balance between cutting edge science and applied research.

So I hope today that this will show you that Defra is taking rural businesses seriously.

This Government has strong rural credentials. We have a clear and bold vision for the rural economy and are in no doubt that it can make a significant contribution towards this country’s economic growth.

My thanks for providing me with this opportunity to speak to you and I look forward to our discussions.