With the general election just a few months away, business leaders around the country are waiting to find out what lies ahead. The agricultural sector is chief among them, keen to find out how a future government plans to feed our ever-growing population and address urgent challenges such as the changing climate, land usage and declining crop yields.
When scanning the potential post-election horizon, it is possible to size up the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats by looking at their record over the past five years. In this time, the government’s £160m support for the agricultural technology sector has received a broadly positive response. However, other policies such as voluntary health targets for food retailers have come in for criticism. And let us not forget the various decisions around pesticide use and GM which have led to criticism that many policies have been unduly influenced by public opinion rather than scientific evidence.
