The Importance of Agriculture to the UK

Over 6000 years ago the first farmers started clearing the native wildwood that covered the UK. They grew crops, reared livestock and learned techniques for storing produce so that food could be made available throughout the year. Later they settled permanently in particular areas and with adequate food supplies started to develop other skills; civilisation was born.

For centuries agriculture was the principal industry. In the Middle Ages around 30% of national income was derived from the wool clip alone - many of most important towns and cities owe their heritage to the trade of that period. Later as wool was processed and converted to cloth, innovation abounded and the seeds of the industrial revolution were sown.

During the 19th Century industrialisation brought an end to the agrarian society. An improving transport infrastructure provided fresh food for fast growing towns so that by 1850 more than 50% of the population had become urban dwellers. But while agriculture remained fundamental in the supply of foodstuffs its influence waned in the economy as a whole - by 1900 its share of national income had fallen to just 6%. Over the last century the same trends have continued and today few need to be directly engaged in agriculture.

Relative to the economy as a whole, agriculture has been declining for centuries and today the industry generates only a tiny proportion of national income - around 0.5%. Nonetheless agriculture remains important.

Over half a million people are directly engaged in agriculture either in a full or part-time employment. This is a significant part of overall rural employment and one that helps to maintain rural communities. Agriculture is at the start of the UK food chain. Even though the value of agricultural produce is relatively low, a complex infrastructure of processing, distribution and retailing are subsequently dependent upon it. Without a domestic agriculture, the financial viability of a large part of the food chain would be under threat.