FARMERS produce 65 per cent of our food and manage 70 per cent of England’s land. If our farmers cannot predict prices, weather, or government policy, how can they be expected to plan with confidence?

Uncertainty is a big issue for farmers. It makes planning difficult in a sector that depends on it. Repeated economic and environmental shocks have exposed the fragility of our farming system. Conflict has pushed up the cost of fuel and fertiliser, while extreme weather has increased crop failures. The question is not whether these pressures will continue, but how we strengthen our farming system so that food production can build resilience to withstand them.

For some time, policy has needed to look beyond the next harvest. That is why the Farming Roadmap has been long awaited, and there is good stuff here. It breaks away from unhelpful annual cycles and sets a long-term direction for English farming through to 2050. It treats domestic food production as a matter of national security, committing to maintain production levels and move beyond crisis management.

The government's response to Minette Batters' Review recognises that profitability, productivity and resilience go hand in hand. This has informed the roadmap throughout and has been backed by investment. That includes £123 million this year that will fund innovation in the sector. This supports advances in robotics, soil health and water management and will extend at least to 2030/31.

The roadmap makes the best use of our land, looking to protect the most productive farmland for food production, especially where it delivers the greatest value. There is a marked shift towards lower-input, lower-emission farming systems, supported by advice, incentives and regulation. To take the risk out of these new approaches, Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes will support that transition, becoming more targeted over time.

Environmental recovery and climate action are tightly connected to our food production, and improving soil health is a big part of this. Nutrient-rich soil not only supports crop growth but also helps farms withstand drought and flooding. This is why the roadmap aims to bring at least 60% of agricultural soil under sustainable management by 2030.

There is also a move to strengthen supply chains, reducing our reliance on expensive imported inputs and creating clearer routes to market. We will work with industry to make the chain more transparent, and Sector Growth Plans for horticulture and poultry are already being developed to help businesses secure better returns.

Greater collaboration between farmers through co-operatives is also encouraged, along with shared services and joint investment. These approaches will help farmers lower costs and spread risk, and many know how well this works. Furthermore, reforms to longer-term tenancies will provide reassurance to tenant farmers, who make up an important part of Cornwall's farming sector.

Now we will move forward and work with our farmers to deliver on the words in this strategy. We know the proof will be in the pudding. We know there is trust to build and confidence to restore. And we intend to see that through.