The UK food system will focus on quality not quantity

While the Spotlight stops short of describing the food system as irreparably broken, it concludes that it is under growing strain and will require a significant review to ensure it remains resilient, competitive and capable of meeting future demand.

Self-sufficiency has fallen

From the Second World War, where UK self-sufficiency was around 30%, the government spent a number of the following decades focused on increasing productivity, the result being an increase to 80% in the 1980s. However today, the UK has become markedly more reliant on imported food and self-sufficiency has fallen to 65% with imports worth around 2.5 times more than exports. As a result, food security is no longer simply a production issue; it increasingly involves  land use, infrastructure and policy challenges. Policy fragmentation is holding back coordinated progress. In the absence of a unified UK-wide production strategy, the sector continues to face uncertainty over the long-term framework for food and farming.

Financial support for food production since the Second World War has also changed from market interventions, productivity grants, direct payments, decoupled support and today, the post-Brexit system continues to follow a transition to  public money for public good – in this context, food is not recognised as a public good. As direct farm subsidies have receded, farm businesses in order to secure certainty around investment, land use and long-term production capacity, have been expected to find returns through new markets, diversification and supply chain relationships.

Adapt through innovation

Climate change is fast emerging as a direct economic threat to the sector. Savills research points to the growing need for farmers and producers to adapt through innovation, including a review of crop suitability, investing in irrigation and water infrastructure, and adopting production systems designed to improve resilience over the longer term.

Against that backdrop, the Spotlight points to a fundamental change in how food businesses operate. The traditional commodity-led, transactional model is giving way to more collaborative and vertically aligned systems, driven by a convergence of economic, environmental and geopolitical pressures.

Better food rather than more

Savills review of 51 UK sustainability-linked supply chain contracts found that environmental requirements are rising rapidly, particularly in relation to carbon, biodiversity and soil health. While direct payments to producers were often modest, the value to farmers frequently comes through improved stability, reduced risk and access to support. The research suggests that future success will depend not simply on yield, but on access to data, credible reporting and trusted partnerships across the supply chain.

Consumer demand is changing too. The Spotlight identifies a growing shift towards better food rather than simply more food, with increased attention on nutritional value and protein content. These evolving preferences are likely to reshape sourcing decisions throughout the supply chain, increasing demand for higher-quality raw materials and ingredients and creating opportunities for those producers able to respond.

Kelly Hewson-Fisher head of Savills rural research comments, “The direction of travel is clear: the UK food system cannot rely on volume alone. Future resilience will depend on how well the sector adapts to climate risk, responds to changing consumer demand and builds stronger, more transparent supply chain relationships. In practical terms, that means a renewed focus on quality, nutritional value and provenance. The food on tomorrow’s table may look less like the ultra-processed model that has dominated in recent decades, and more like a system built around better ingredients, trusted supply chains and long-term resilience.”

For more information, read the full report here.