Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones has warned the country faces a significant loss of its agriculture sector if more attention is not afforded to it.
It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addresses the Farm to Fork summit where he is set to urge the UK to lessen its dependence on foreign fruits and vegetables and support local producers.
Speaking on GB News, Wyn Jones said farmers are working “24/7” to put food on the table for Britons.
He told Bev Turner and Andrew Pierce he is concerned about the future as Gen Z increasingly continues to shun the profession.
Gareth Wyn Jones says farmers are being 'trodden on'
GB NEWS
“We have got the biggest supermarket in this country using fake farms to sell its produce with produce coming in from every country in the world”, he said.
“If we don’t step up and look at food security as the most important part of what we have in this country, we are sleepwalking into food shortages.
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“This is going to happen sooner rather than later. We are going to see price hikes going through the roof, we are seeing that already with beef and lamb.
“The Government should be looking at spending more on solar panels to allow farmers to milk cows at a cheaper rate. It's innovation and technology needed to feed this nation in a sustainable, regenerative and environmentally friendly way.
“We can only ask the consumer and the customer to get out there and back British agriculture. Forget about Government, forget about supermarkets, find the butcher and farm shop. Farmers are going to be feeding you once, twice or three times a day.
“We want to do it affordably, we have to have your support.”
Rishi Sunak is set to address farmers
Parliament TV
The Welsh farmer joined Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner on GB News
GB NEWS
Wyn Jones went on to lament supermarkets, saying they have played a significant role in the struggles currently being experienced by British farms.
“They have a stranglehold on British agriculture”, he said.
He added: “It’s always the farmer. It’s absolutely wrong what they have done.
“They’re making massive profits. We’re looking at them every year. The farmer is putting in seven days a week, 365 days a year to make sure food is affordable. How long can that last? It won’t. The next generation is not coming through.
“I don’t want to be subsidised or paid by the Government. I want a fair price for producing food. This area of North Wales and Snowdonia is a fantastic place for wildlife, tourism and agriculture.
“We need to protect the next generation here. The Government and Westminster are not doing it.
“We are like third class citizens. We are trodden on. The farmer is always blamed. They’re talking about polluting the rivers when they don’t even ask the sewage companies how much poop is being dropped into it.
“Things need to change. No farmers, no food.”