The Landworker's Alliance and Growing Communities have launched a series of practical proposals, accompanied by illustrative case studies, for a scheme to dramatically increase local fruit and vegetable production following Brexit.

To meet the UK demand for fruit and vegetables, a massive scaling up of production is required. If everyone in Britain were to eat the “seven a day” now recommended by Public Health England, we would need an additional 2.4 million tonnes of fresh produce, equivalent to a 66% growth in UK production. 

Spokesperson for the LWA Horticulture Campaign, Rebecca Laughton says, “If Defra is serious about bringing health into the Post-Brexit agricultural policy, it is essential that they adopt a proactive approach to horticultural regeneration, which addresses the challenges currently faced by UK horticulture and substantially increases the proportion of the agriculture budget focused on fruit and vegetable production”. Read the full press release here.