Tom Corfield, agricultural partner at Arnolds Keys - Irelands Agricultural, discusses what the farming community needs from the new prime minister.

"As a former Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) secretary of state, I understand the challenges faced by farmers, and they can trust me to deliver the changes they need.” Those were the words of our new prime minster, Liz Truss, just six weeks ago.

Promising to ‘unleash British food and farming’, the Norfolk MP also said: “The pandemic and cost-of-living crisis have shown it is more vital than ever for us to ensure we have a high-quality and affordable supply of British food.”

Eastern Daily Press: Tom Corfield, partner at Norfolk-based agency Arnolds Keys - Irelands AgriculturalTom Corfield, partner at Norfolk-based agency Arnolds Keys - Irelands Agricultural (Image: Arnolds Keys - Irelands Agricultural)

Of course, the southwest Norfolk MP has made very many promises during the seemingly interminable Conservative leadership campaign and so it's highly likely that we should expect some rowing back on some of those grandiose pledges.

However, having the PM representing a county with farming at its core, it is to be hoped that she follows through on the majority of those undertakings. The truth is that there is nowhere near enough attention on food production in the UK.

According to the NFU we import 40pc of our food, making us just 60pc self-sufficient. In a very uncertain world – and one in which we have decoupled ourselves from our largest market - that is almost certainly not enough.

After just a few days on the job, it is far too soon to judge Ms Truss on her commitment to farming, but is the appointment of the unknown Ranil Jayawardena as the new DEFRA Secretary of State, who has no direct experience of agriculture, a worrying start?

When Ms Truss turns her attention to agriculture, what should her priorities be? First and foremost is to show the kind of genuine respect and political support for our farmers and the importance of the food they produce for us which has been missing in recent years.

Then she needs to run her attention to more practical matters: removing onerous red tape and mindless bureaucracy; tackling long-term skills shortages and hurdles to the adoption of labour-saving technologies; a better, faster, more supportive system for our vital seasonal workers; focussing on our precious water resources (and that means accepting that climate change is real); and putting food production at the forefront of agriculture, with environmental matters working alongside that.

Our new PM has a daunting list of issues to deal with: a continent threatened by war, an almost overwhelming energy crisis and the most serious cost-of-living crisis in modern history. But how we feed ourselves as a country has to be right up there as a pressing priority - farming cannot wait too long.