The future of our fruit and veg

Sheila Dillon visits fruit and veg growers across the country to ask what should the government put in its landmark plan to grow more in the UK. With war in the Middle East driving up fertiliser and energy prices and a growing health crisis at home, more homegrown fruit and veg could hold the answers to many of our problems. But those on the ground tell a different story, as businesses prepare to invest more in farms overseas, increase imports or face an ongoing struggle to cover rising costs and competition. Sheila meets a berry grower in Kent, and a tomato producer in Lancashire, who show her the realities of their farms today, and she hears from experts across the sector with their ideas for what could, and should, go into the government’s Horticulture Growth Plan. Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

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The future of our fruit and veg is an episode from The Food Programme by BBC.

This episode is 42:37 long.

This episode was published on May 22, 2026.

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