Defra Minister to face MPs’ questions on farming, profitability and fairness in supply chains, and fisheries

The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner MP, will today make his first appearance before the EFRA Select Committee, to face MPs' questions on their thematic inquiries on the future of farming, fairness in the food supply chain, and fisheries and the marine environment. 

In the first section of the session, Committee Members will probe the Government's vision for the future of farming, and will pose questions on the early closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 to new applications, ongoing concerns in the sector, and Defra's communication of, and consultation on, key policy changes to stakeholders.  

Questions to the Minister in the second part of the session will be focused on fairness in food supply chains. MPs will enquire into the steps Defra is taking to make the supply chain fairer, a key element of the Government's plans to support the farming sector. MPs will consider the scope of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA), and whether the two are adequately resourced to fulfil their functions. 

In the final part of the evidence session, MPs will quiz the Defra Minister on the outcome of the annual fisheries negotiations between the UK and its nearby coastal partners. The Minister will also be asked about the UK's negotiations with the EU on fisheries arrangements post 2026, when the fisheries provisions of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement are set to be reviewed for the first time. 

Witnesses on 1 April 

At 10am 

• Daniel Zeichner MP, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
• Emily Miles, Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
• Janet Hughes, Director of the Farming and Countryside Programme at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

At approximately 11.20am

• Daniel Zeichner MP, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
• Colin Faulkner, Head of External Fisheries and Trade, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
• Mike Dowell, Head of EU Fisheries Policy and Negotiations, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs