Saqib celebrated British farmers who work through rain and shine. Back British Farming Day provides an opportunity for MPs to champion the work farmers and growers do for the nation. Consistently, the public rank farmers as one of the UK’s most important jobs. They produce our food, care for our glorious countryside, deliver renewable energy and produce jobs for rural communities.
Saqib attended the National Farmer’s Union Parliamentary reception where he spoke with Tom Bradshaw, President of the National Farmer’s Union, about the issues facing farming communities in Meriden and Solihull East. This included maximising the UK’s food security to keep costs down, the conservation of the countryside from poor planning and increasing sustainability.
Agriculture is a key player in the West Midlands economy, despite the area being known historically for its urban and industrial strength. Hundreds of people work on hundreds of farms in Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, and Coventry over 21,000 hectares. These farms generate £37 million for the regional economy, not including the contribution made by those working in allied industries and the wider food and drink sector in cities and towns across the region. On a national scale, food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – contributing more than £146 billion to the economy and employing more than four million people.
Farmers in the region also manage around 300 hectares of farm woodland which our community cherishes. Saqib showed his support by wearing the iconic wheatsheaf pin badge during PMQs and attended the NFU’s Back British Farming Day Parliamentary reception.
