Morning, Friday, 6th November 2026
Online
This conference will discuss next steps for food policy in England. Areas for discussion include how food, farming, environmental and land use policies should work together in practice, growth and investment across the food system, public health and affordability, as well as climate adaptation, food security and resilience.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers in the context of implementation of the Government’s Food Strategy for England, publication of the Farming Roadmap 2050 and the Land Use Framework for England, and development of the role of the Farming and Food Partnership Board. Delegates will assess how these frameworks can be implemented coherently in practice, their implications across the food system, and priorities for governance, co-ordination and delivery.
Food, farming and land use - policy, governance and implementation capacity
Delegates will consider how the Food Strategy, Farming Roadmap and Land Use Framework are intended to work together across food production, farming, environmental policy and decisions about land use, and what this means for delivery structures, accountability and decision-making. Discussion will take place as a range of interconnected initiatives are developed, including sector growth plans, environmental land management schemes and reform arising from the Government’s recent response to the Farming Profitability Review.
Those attending will examine questions of regulatory coherence, administrative capacity and how strategic objectives can be turned into practical and demonstrable results at farm, supply chain and consumer level. Discussion will consider the data, evidence and spatial analysis that is needed to inform decisions, assess progress and identify the effects of policy across different parts of the food system. Sessions will also examine where responsibility and accountability should sit, and what will be needed from governance arrangements to provide sufficient clarity and certainty for businesses and farmers making longer-term investment decisions.
Growth, investment and competitiveness across the food system
The agenda will look at the conditions needed for long-term growth, investment confidence and competitiveness across farming and the wider food industry, and how they might be achieved. Sessions will consider how businesses are responding to evolving regulatory requirements, reporting obligations and sustainability expectations, alongside wider pressures involving productivity and workforce capacity.
Delegates will also consider the Government’s response to the Farming Profitability Review and assess priorities for how decisions on policy objectives, funding arrangements and delivery are taken across Defra, HM Treasury and stakeholders in the sector.
The food environment, affordability and public health
Sessions will focus on the relationship between the food environment and population health outcomes, including the role of food policy in supporting healthier diets and reducing health inequalities.
Delegates will consider approaches to improving access to healthier and affordable food, and implications for competitiveness and investment across the food industry. We expect discussion on how potential practical tensions might be resolved between public health objectives and wider pressures affecting costs, consumer choice and supply chain sustainability.
Climate adaptation, food security and system resilience
Further discussion will consider the practical implementation of resilience and climate adaptation measures across farms, supply chains and the wider food system. This includes the co-ordination of agricultural, environmental and land use policies, and the planning, data and spatial tools that can be deployed to support more integrated decision-making.
Delegates will consider approaches to effectively advancing food production alongside environmental and climate objectives, including the management of competing demands involving agricultural output, nature recovery, renewable energy, infrastructure and development. They will also consider latest thinking on strategic approaches to responding to increasing climate-related uncertainty, including the impacts of extreme weather, changing growing conditions and global climate patterns such as El Niño on domestic production, imports, supply chain resilience and food security.
