UK could lose farmers by 2035

13/06/2008

Britain could be ‘starved’ of its self sufficiency by 2035 if skills shortages continue, a skills council has warned.

The report, by Lantra, the sector skills council for the environmental and land-based industries, found that the industry is losing almost 16,000 workers a year.

In response to the crisis, the council announced a ‘Skills for our Nation’ campaign, which will raise awareness of ‘critically important’ job roles in the sector.

At the launch, members of the council cautioned that recent explosions in fuel and energy prices have demonstrated how reliant the UK is on imported materials.

And with nearly 40% of the workforce in the land-based sector aged over 45, they warned skills are ‘literally dying out’.

Dr Gordon McGlone, Lantra’s chairman, urged the government to take action to guard against the decline.

“Britain faces a future where growing is going and we need materials and workers from other markets to maintain our food supply and take care of the land-based economy.

“We are determined to showcase the opportunities within the industry and help businesses up skill to equip themselves for the future. We represent an industry which has the opportunity to thrive and in turn safeguard the self sufficiency of the UK as a nation,” he said.