Robust safeguards against animal diseases needed to protect British farmers
Farmers would be forgiven for thinking that the Government has adopted an adversarial attitude towards them. Policy decisions have put them at loggerheads with Labour ever since the party entered government.
Whether that is the drive to build solar farms on land that was once being used for agriculture or the proposed changes to inheritance tax (IHT), that have left many farmers facing uncertainty.
But the country cannot achieve food security without British farmers. It is not hysterical to say that Britain could end up becoming reliant on importing food. People only need to look at the labels on produce at supermarkets to see how far down that road we are. It would leave Britain in a vulnerable position.
Food security would be further undermined if we were to become complacent when it comes to animal diseases.
National Pig Association chief executive Lizzie Wilson raised concerns with MPs about the risk of illegally imported meat containing African swine fever and reported delays in foot and mouth disease controls, yesterday.
The Government’s relationship with farmers is already on thin ice. Yesterday farmers once again marched towards Parliament to register their discontent with the proposed changes to IHT.
The last thing they and indeed the public will accept is seeing livestock being put at risk because of complacency.
Last month, this newspaper reported evidence given to the EFRA Committee from senior port figures that the online reporting system took up to a week to update, after a foot and mouth outbreak amongst water buffalo was detected in Germany on January 10.
The Government needs to work with farmers to ensure that robust safeguards are in place protecting British agriculture.