AS climate volatility and supply chain disruption place growing strain on food production, ensuring the resilience of the UK food system is becoming more important than ever.
But food security is not just about supply – it is about resilience. That resilience is under increasing pressure from structural changes in how we farm and produce food.
Unpredictable weather, policy uncertainty and rising costs are threatening crop yield, quality and consistency. This is putting pressure on a food system that we all depend on. What was once cyclical volatility is now a persistent structural risk. With over half of British farmers considering leaving the industry and nearly three quarters pessimistic about the future, the long-term stability of domestic food production is at risk.
This is why food security cannot be seen purely as an agricultural issue, it must be recognised as a core component of national resilience.
Analysis from the recent Sustainable Farming Dividend report by Demos, supported by McCain, reinforces the scale of the challenge: deteriorating natural systems could reduce UK GDP by 6% over the next decade, while sustainable farming has the potential to boost farm profitability by £1.6 billion annually. In other words, strengthening resilience at the farm level is not simply an environmental ambition. It is an economic and strategic imperative.
If resilience is the goal, then how we farm must be part of the solution.
Regenerative agriculture offers a practical pathway to strengthen resilience across the food system by improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity, reducing dependency on synthetic inputs and using natural resources more efficiently. At its core, it is about working in harmony with nature to build farming systems that are more adaptive, productive and sustainable over the long term.
The economic case is equally compelling. Sustainable farming practices could reduce input costs by £905 million annually and cut fertiliser imports by £449 million – critical in a system where 60% of nitrogen fertiliser is imported and many farms are already operating under financial pressure.
At McCain, we have committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of our global potato acreage by 2030. For McCain GB, 86% of our acreage is currently at ‘engaged’ or higher within our Regenerative Agriculture Framework. We’ve also launched our ‘Grow with Us’ to support farmers in managing rising costs and climate pressures.
Building a resilient food system requires coordinated action across the entire value chain, from farmers and businesses to policymakers and investors.
The transition to regenerative agriculture is already underway, but to accelerate progress we need broader commitment, long-term investment and supportive policy frameworks.
