MP Anthony Mangnall: We need change in how we farm and talk about food

Procurement is not a particularly attractive or interesting topic of conversation.
But when you consider that each year schools, hospitals, prisons and publicly owned organisations spend an estimated £4.2billion on food, you realise its significance, importance and indeed its potential.
Last week, I attended Groundswell, the UK’s largest regenerative agricultural conference. More than 7,000 farmers from across the country attended to discuss, debate and demonstrate the pros and cons of regenerative farming while also highlighting the many challenges.
It is a unique gathering, as unlike many other agricultural conferences, it is orientated around positivity and a can-do approach that recognises and seizes upon the need to enact change in how we farm, talk about food and even cook.
I was particularly pleased to be able to take to the stage to speak about procurement and the need for us to explore the ways and means to shorten supply chains, to adopt a buy-local first approach and to provide more opportunities for the farmers, fishermen and small businesses that are producing within our community.
It is the curse of every Government and administration that the bigger the cost, the more complex the procurement chain becomes. Across the Western world, defence budgets, for instance, have always been seen as inefficient, costly and opaque, delivering little value for money.
While steps are under way in the UK to improve this system, many will have seen numerous attempts in the past that have tried and failed.
However, where there has been a success in the UK, has been through the recent Procurement Bill which passed through Parliament and is now awaiting Royal Assent. This Bill will seek to make procurement processes more transparent as well as ensuring a greater degree of flexibility for small businesses to be able to tender bids and be part of the process, which for too long has been far too inflexible and cumbersome.
This Bill is expected to help small businesses and producers take advantage of national and local Government tenders with the expectation that we can get more locally produced goods and services into our economy.
Some might hold a degree of scepticism about the achievability of such a mission. But there is a perfect case study in the form of Denmark, which in 2001 set a national target of 60 per cent for all food in publicly funded organisations to be sourced locally.
By Government setting national targets and the private sector improving supply chains, engaging with small and local producers and enhancing advertising, this target was met with a greater degree of ease than was expected. The city of Copenhagen upgraded the target to 90 per cent and is now working successfully to reach this level.
Here in the UK, with this new legislation almost in place, we have the impetus to set a national target for locally sourced food. It should begin with us recognising that our national food security is at an unacceptable level (estimated to be 54 per cent), a new national target needs to be set at between 75-80 per cent.
At this point, we need to then implement a target of 60 per cent of all food purchased with taxpayers’ money to be locally sourced. In doing so, we will not only support our farmers and agricultural communities but we will also benefit and develop our coastal communities by recognising and valuing the fishing and aquaculture sectors.
Our relationship with food has changed dramatically over the years, but with the rapid rise in processed food and the potential health implications that come with it, we would do well to ensure that our local farmers and fishermen have the easiest run at getting their world-class quality product onto the shelves of our local shops.
If we succeed, we cannot only improve at-quay and at-gate prices but we can help create a sustainable, regenerative agricultural and fishing community that is well supported by the government, the private sector and all of us.