Winter flooding threatens Wales’ food supply just as summer droughts and wildfires exposed vulnerabilities in an import-reliant distribution network, according to warnings issued by an expert.
Wern Farm and the Push for Local Horticulture
With 90% of the country used for agriculture, only about 0.1% is currently being used for horticulture, a shortfall that growers at Wern Farm near Newtown, Powys, argue must change.
Duncan Fisher co-founded Our Food Trust about 10 years ago alongside Sue Holbrook to establish 100 farms producing fruit and vegetables locally for Welsh markets. Securing stable housing for farmers remains a primary hurdle to expanding this model, as workers need to live on-site to protect crops from high winds or stray sheep.
By collaborating with the Powys council and the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, the initiative constructed three temporary homes for farmers on 36 acres of council-owned land and is currently building three more, according to reports detailing the farm’s operations.
Extreme Weather Pressures on Growers
Lydia Dibben, a 28-year-old grower at Wern Farm, manages just over an acre of land that yields 50 vegetable boxes each week while supplying farmers’ markets and regional wholesalers. She described the summer season as the hardest she had experienced in five years of growing, marked by soaring temperatures inside polytunnels that forced her to halt work by mid-morning and resume tasks late into the night.
The hours I was keeping were just insane. I was getting out to the field at 05:00, and then working until it got just too hot to be outside, which was like 11:00 some days, maybe even earlier.
Lydia Dibben, grower at Wern Farm
She said that despite heavy watering, crops grew slower and remained stunted under the intense heat.
Centralised Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
“has an incredibly centralised food system with 95% of the food we eat bought from nine supermarkets” Fisher highlighted the United Kingdom has an incredibly centralised food system, said Duncan Fisher. He pointed out that the lack of domestic storage creates a fragile just-in-time logistics network dependent on lorries moving across motorways.
We are hugely dependent and these vegetables are coming from really vulnerable parts of the world like south Europe and north Africa – the areas most prone to drought, fires and overheating.
Duncan Fisher, co-founder of Our Food Trust
Wes Streeting advised citizens in October to keep emergency supplies such as water, tinned goods, baby food, torches, and mobile phone charging packs ready, a recommendation that Fisher referenced when discussing the risks of cyber-attacks disrupting transit arteries.
Government Invests £200m to Boost Crop Technology
In response to these supply chain pressures, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that “We recognise the hurdles that our vital fruit and vegetable growers face, which is why we are slashing planning red tape and investing £200m to help farmers trial crop boosting technology.”
The Welsh government reported that its national food strategy is increasing domestic fruit and vegetable production to build a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.
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