- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
PM Sunak warns UK must boost food production
The UK needs to reduce its reliance on imports of fruit and vegetables, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told farmers on Tuesday, as he sought to make food security a top priority against climate and geopolitical threats.
Sunak hosted some 70 farmers and other growers at his Downing Street office and residence in central London, telling them they were "vital to the security and the fabric of our country".
The "farm to fork" summit coincided with the publication of the government's first food security index, to "monitor the impacts of external factors, such as Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine or extreme adverse weather events" on supplies.
But it also comes as Sunak seeks the traditional support of rural voters for a general election expected later this year, with indications that they may back the main Labour opposition instead of his ruling Conservatives.
The past 18 months have been the wettest on record in England, and second wettest six months across the UK, hitting crop yields and putting pressure on farmers.
Food delivery problems from the European mainland have also bitten since Brexit, while production costs have risen and recruitment of foreign seasonal workers have been hit by new immigration requirements.
The government's new index shows that Britain produces 17 percent of the fruit and 55 percent of the vegetables that end up on British plates -- well behind meat, dairy and grains.
British agriculture provides around 60 percent of the food consumed in the UK, but farmers fear this share is falling.
All areas of farming –- arable, livestock, poultry, horticulture and dairy –- are expected to decrease production over the next year, according to a recent survey by the National Farmers Union (NFU).
Several demonstrations have taken place in recent months against the post-Brexit agricultural policy of Sunak's Tory government, which has been in power for 14 years.
The UK has signed several trade deals since leaving the EU in 2020 but farmers say some of the deals, and a lack of import checks, is allowing poorer quality food to come into Britain from countries with less stringent regulations.
A policy in England of paying farmers to create habitats for environmental reasons was also taking land out of food production, they argue.
G.Machado--PC