YP Comment: The real food chain

Yet many agricultural businesses would not be able to make ends meet without migrant labour – out-of-work Britons don’t have the inclination, or willpower, to pick fruit and vegetables for minimum reward.

Without menial workers from abroad, the food chain would simply not function. If fresh produce is left to rot in fields or not processed properly, the knock-on effects, for example, extend to the sandwich shop having to import salad products – or insufficient strawberries to make jams and other delicacies. And so it goes on.

What is perturbing, however, is the lack of clarity about the rights of farm workers when it comes to the now imminent Brexit talks. Though many voters want tougher controls on immigration, will they be prepared to pay more for their weekly groceries if labour restrictions lead to increased food imports because there are insufficient people to work on the farms? As farmers need to plan ahead, Andrea Leadsom, the low-profile Brexit-supporting Environment Secretary, should listen respectfully to the CLA’s call today for special dispensation to be given to seasonal agricultural workers.

This isn’t a matter for the EU. Self-sufficiency is a matter for Mrs Leadsom who was only too pleased to take the credit at yesterday’s NFU conference for the rise in food exports. Now she must put her money where her mouth is... or her inaction will leave a sour taste indeed.