Farming may get professional body as it moves to the market

Farming Minister Jim Paice told the Oxford Farming Conference that Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) would be well-suited as an organisation to fill the role.

He said Ministers are now working with AHDB to see how this notion can be taken forward.

“I have for a long time believed that as farming moves nearer the true market and out of the shelter of government it needs its own professional body,” he said.

The Oxford Farming Conference, one of the most important events on the agricultural calendar, also saw strong representations made that Britain’s farmers would flourish if it were to exit the European Union.

East of England UKIP MEP and farmer Stuart Agnew won a surprise victory in the Oxford Union Conference debate on the motion: “This House believes that British Agriculture could thrive outside of the European Union.”

A straw poll taken before the debate showed that some 80 per cent of the delegates were against the motion but by the end of the debate the evening the audience voted it through by 195 votes to 186.

Mr Agnew said: “UK farming policy should focus on producing more food for its population” and asked “Can we trust the EU to produce our food?”

The conference also saw the publication of research showing that the Government needed to develop policies in order to make sure Britain’s farmers remain competitive on the global market.

Research published by the organisers of this week’s Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) stated Ministers needed a new strategy to improve research and development if British farms are going to increase the amount of food they need to produce to both feed the nation and continue to be viable player internationally.

The Power in Agriculture report, produced by the Scottish Agricultural College on conference’s behalf, said the country will face significant pressures if it tries to expand its food production beyond current levels.

Elsewhere during the conference Labour’s Shadow Defra Minister Mary Creagh attacked on the coalition Government’s record on farming, in particular the progress in creating a figure to oversee the supermarket industry to make sure farmers are given a fair deal.

Ms Creagh, MP for Wakefield, told delegates: “We want to see a fair and competitive supply chain for growers, processors and retailers.

“That is why Labour in Government got cross-party agreement on the need for a Groceries Code Adjudicator to ensure a fair deal for farmers and producers. But we are worried by Government delays which mean that the adjudicator will probably not be up and running until 2014/15.”

A decision is due to be made on the matter by the Department for Business this month.

Ms Creagh also used her speech to highlight the fact food and drink is now the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, with a turnover of £76.2bn but said that Government was not supporting this through its purchasing habits, saying it had “failed to deliver on its promises” to buy British when it came to food procurement.

A rare moment of accord between Labour and the Tories however came on the issue of Genetically Modified crops, with both parties saying the subject merited further data and research.