‘We cannot miss a beet – harnessing agri-tech innovations under a new Labour government’

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The food and drink sector supports 4 million jobs in the UK from farm to fork, generating £142 billion annually. It is our largest manufacturing sector. However, investment in the sector has dropped by 30% since 2019, with knock on consequences for farmers and the supply chain.

As we gather in Liverpool, we know the new Government is facing tough decisions; the need to strengthen our domestic food security is growing whilst the increasing impact of climate change is being felt by many. But British farmers and the sugar beet industry stand ready to be part of the solution.

We are uniquely well placed, with a strong supply chain, world-leading science and a highly skilled workforce. With the Labour Government prioritising economic growth and clean energy, there’s a tremendous opportunity to set the policy environment and fire up an agri-tech revolution.

We are calling for policymakers, businesses and farmers to work together and develop a National Food Security Strategy that encompasses the entire food ecosystem and unlocks the undoubted potential of our great industry.

Celebrating a century of innovation

 Our homegrown British beet industry now grows, processes, and supplies over 50% of the UK’s sugar demand. Through our four advanced manufacturing sites we are proud to support an industry of 7,000 jobs throughout East Anglia and East Midlands.

And this year marks a significant milestone for British Sugar as we will have been processing sugar beet at Wissington and Bury St Edmunds factories for over one hundred years.

Farmers are at the heart of everything we do

Having been Managing Director at British Sugar for just over a year, one of the highlights for me has been working with our 2,300 growers. Every one of them is a passionate entrepreneur, playing their part in producing food and protecting our environment.

Sugar beet serves an important part of arable crop rotation, improving soil health, whilst boosting its fertility and enhancing biodiversity, all adding to sustainable food production.

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Our track record speaks for itself. Over the past 100 years, and in partnership with our farmers, we’ve increased agricultural productivity through advances in technology and breeding; from producing 20 tonnes of sugar beet per hectare to nearly 80 today, freeing up land for other crops or environmental schemes.

Our century of experience guides how we are looking to the future – building on our history of industry-leading innovation to position the UK beet sector as a global leader in agri-tech.

By adapting and embracing new technologies, we know we can deliver increased food security and more green growth

We’re already pioneering advancements across our supply chain. We’re using precision drilling, satellite technology and drones to monitor crop quality and our environmental impact, as well as trialling GPS-controlled robots to autonomously plant sugar beet seed and carry out weed control.

We’re at the forefront of developing modern breeding techniques and are leveraging Innovate UK funding to advance gene editing research.

Now, we need the new Government to implement secondary legislation in this area so we can deliver crops that flourish with less reliance on pesticides and greater resilience to the effects of climate change.

Building a greener future

Being cleaner and greener to support environmental targets is crucial to our success. We have invested around £250 million in our factories over the last five years, making them ever more efficient and supporting our circular economy approach. We use by-products from the sugar manufacturing process in several ways:

• We generate electricity to power our operations – exporting any excess to the National Grid.
• We produce bioethanol from beet pulp, a by-product of sugar production, helping to revolutionise a greener transport sector. Bioethanol is currently used in E10 fuel, but with the right support, it could power jet engines as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
• Other by-products include fertiliser, animal feed and topsoil – all contributing towards on-farm success and sustainable food production

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These innovations have resulted in less than 200g of waste from every tonne of sugar produced.

We’ve also made significant investments to decarbonise our operations and are exploring exciting possibilities in green energy. At Wissington, we have recently completed the installation of a new £17 million energy reduction project, reducing the site emissions by 30,000 tonnes of carbon a year – the equivalent of 3,700 UK households’ energy use every year.

We are waiting to hear from the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) if we will receive support for the next phase of this investment. These innovations not only support UK environmental targets, but also offer new opportunities for growth and skilled jobs in our region.

A call to action to back British farming

To support a modern economy with UK agriculture at its heart, we cannot afford to stand still.

As we head into party conference week, our ask is clear: We need a national plan to support the food supply chain, improving food security and reducing the food system’s impact on the environment.

This plan should focus on integrating data, analytics, and cutting-edge biotechnology and agri-tech.

With the right policy framework and government backing, the food and drink industry can continue to drive forward innovations and green energy solutions, ensuring we thrive for the next century and many more to come.

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