FARMING leaders will be looking at the conflict in Ukraine via a virtual event on Wednesday (March 16).

The NFU, which has already written to Ukrainian farmers in support.

But it is also looking at the impact of the conflict at home with disruption to food output, supply chains, availability and affordability, predicted to last for many years.

The group stressed that Government attention is rightly focused on attempts to resolve the crisis, and although there is no desire to diminish national efforts to resolve the crisis, attention must be drawn to dealing with the consequences for the UK.

With that in mind NFU president Minette Batters will be chairing a Ukraine crisis virtual event for members from 4pm that will look at what the impacts of the war in Ukraine are and how they can be mitigated.

She said: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been devastating to the people who live there and we have offered assistance to Ukrainian farmers in any way possible.

“The war has also focused attention on the importance and fragility of food security, both at home and abroad.

"British farmers continue to stand ready to do all we can to ensure the public continues to have access to high-quality, affordable, climate-friendly food.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been devastating to the people who live there and we have offered assistance to Ukrainian farmers in any way possible.”

She added: “There are some clear short and long-term actions that government can take to maintain confidence and stability across the UK’s food producing businesses.

"We have shared these with government and we want to stress that we stand ready to take these forward together, in order to navigate the extreme volatility we see today and expect to grow in the coming months.”