Conservative Lord Taylor of Holbeach, shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs this week told a Fruit Focus forum that his party would re-prioritise food and farming should it come into power, claiming that food production is “the most important industry of all”.

His presentation, Horticulture under the Conservatives, came less than 12 months until the last possible date for the next general election and took in wide-ranging issues, from the decline of UK production and self-sufficiency to the burden of “gold-plated” EU regulation, public procurement as a “weapon” to defend local and regional economies and the reconsideration of the proposal to scrap the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme next year.

Lord Taylor recognised that the trade endures “unpredictable crops and prices and a far from easy relationship with the market” and “on top of this, the slings and arrows of the government”.

He insisted that the Agricultural Wages Regulations are a “hangover from the war” that “must go” and stressed that the implementation of EU regulations should be “proportionate” so that “conditions are right for UK production to increase”.

Above all, he claimed that “the government must work with industry to match the strengths of each sector”.

He said: “I don’t think it helps to be negative - there are huge opportunities and we have the potential to do better.

“The production of food is the most important industry of all; it is vital to our health and security, but our reliance on imports of foods that we can grow ourselves has grown - this creates unnecessary vulnerabilities.

“The Conservatives believe that it should be a strategic priority to increase production by enabling farmers and growers to compete on an open market.

“At the same time, we recognise that research and development is essential to innovate and deal with new legislation; we cannot reach our potential without R&D.”

But he pointed out that DEFRA’s research budget is less than the £80 million paid to transfer former Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

He said: “If it’s money we are after, it is not there - it is about prioritising what is available.

“But as a horticulturalist, I’m not looking for hand outs; in government, I’d say there are none. The whole queston of budget dominates all decisions at the moment, but it is about re-prioritising…

“It is a good thing to be in opposition for 12 years; it makes you think about what you did last time and what you could do better next time.”