Super El Niño shows that regenerative British farming is a necessity, not a luxury, says Wylde CEO Nick Jefferson

Super El Niño shows that regenerative British farming is a necessity, not aluxury, says Wylde CEO Nick Jefferson

Forecasted Super El Niño will likely disrupt international food supply chains

Meanwhile, a report today from the NFU shows that the UK is increasingly reliant on imported food

Wylde Market runs the UK’s online farmers’ market, connecting the UK’s best independent food producers with consumers across England, Wales and Scotland

9/09/26, Wimbledon, London

Increasing climate disruption and a supermarket-driven food supply chain that is increasingly reliant on exports means that the UK must embrace regenerative farming, says food entrepreneur and campaigner Nick Jefferson.

The UK, says Jefferson, is heading into a “perfect storm” of food instability, with poor domestic harvests predicted and an international food supply chain that is likely to be disrupted by extreme autumn and winter weather caused by El Niño. The solution, he says, is not just supporting our British farmers, but investing in regenerative.

Regenerative agriculture ditches chemical fertilisers and synthetic inputs, building soil the natural way. That means it's not at the mercy of global markets or international supply chain chaos. According to Leeds University research, when the weather turns nasty, with droughts, floods, or extreme heat, regenerative farms outperform traditional agriculture hands down. This is because the soil is stronger, with better water retention and is more able to handle whatever climate throws at it.

Wylde CEO Nick Jefferson said: "We're importing 70% more food than we did 30 years ago while producing less at home. That's a food security disaster waiting to happen. When El Niño hits and disrupts production thousands of miles away, we won't be able to buy our way out of it. We'll be dependent on imports from countries that are being hit just as hard. That's when the system breaks."

"The answer isn't to import more. It's to grow more at home. And to grow using regenerative practices as much as possible. Regenerative British farming is measurably more resilient to the shocks coming. That's not ideology, it's agronomy. But it only works if we properly invest in domestic production instead of outsourcing our food security to global supply chains. We need to be incentivising farmers to be introducing regenerative practices as soon as possible, because the problem isn’t going to solve itself"

Jefferson’s comments come as the National Farmers Union is sounding the alert about Britains growing food security crisis.

The NFU's new report lays out the numbers starkly. The UK's self-sufficiency in 10 out of 11 everyday foods has collapsed over 30 years. Wheat, vegetables, beef, poultry, eggs. We're producing less of them while importing 70% more food than we used to. The union is calling on government to set ambitious targets to rebuild British food production.

Wylde's model focuses on UK-grown produce. Short supply chains reduce exposure to distant disruption because local farming doesn't break when global logistics do.

"Regenerative British farming isn't a luxury," Jefferson adds. "It's practical food resilience. When El Niño disrupts global supplies, this is the system that keeps feeding people. And it's cheaper than gambling on imports that may never arrive."

Wylde Market connects households directly with [over 100 UK] regenerative producers. The business model is a real a alternative to broken supply chains that now depend on 70% more imports than they did 30 years ago.

"Go British. Go regen. Go Wylde," Jefferson says.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Wylde Market:

Launched in September 2023 by entrepreneur Nick Jefferson, Wylde Market is reforming the UK's food system by making the country's best regenerative, organic and biodynamic produce available direct to households nationwide.

The platform brings together farmers, fishermen, foragers, hunters, artisan makers, brewers, bakers and wine importers, delivering to homes across Great Britain (excluding Highlands and Islands).

The market is all online. Customers can shop from their phone, tablet or laptop and everything arrives in one convenient box on Fridays with nationwide delivery.

Producers can access new customers across the UK and, because they set the price of the produce, they get a fair price for what they farm, catch or make.

As the business holds no stock and, at its core, puts producers in touch with consumers and arranges delivery, it is highly scalable. 80% of sales are generated from outside of the M25.

The UK online grocery market is worth £22 billion and is set to grow by 22% in the next five years. The UK organic food market is now worth £3 billion.

Media Contact

James Lumley james@wylde.market 07968 730092