Government urged to back farmers

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 on the worldwide food and farming market.

The warning came as Labour’s Shadow Defra Minister Mary Creagh launched an attack on the Government’s record on food and farming, saying it was not doing enough to make sure farmer got a fair deal in the market place, to support the buying of British food or ensure a long-term future for the sector.

The Power in Agriculture report, produced by the Scottish Agricultural College on conference’s behalf, said the country’s trade rules needed to be altered if export levels were to be maintained. The report said Britain was currently a small player on the worldwide market but “punching above its weight”. However it added that the country will face significant pressures if it tries to expand its food production beyond current levels.

Tom Hind, director of the Oxford Farming Conference, said: “Britain may be a relatively minor player on the world market but we’re becoming more and more exposed to consolidation of input suppliers and competition in key markets, especially our own.”

The Government’s Farming Minister Jim Paice used his appearance at the OFC – one of the most prestigious events on the agricultural calendar – to float the prospect of a new professional body for the farming industry, suggesting the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) 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

As reported in yesterday’s Yorkshire Post, Mr Paice announced the creation of The Yorkshire Food and Farming Network, one of 14 such networks to give rural businesses and communities a direct link to Government.

In her speech, Ms Creagh, MP for Wakefield, highlighted what she called the slow process of introducing a figure to police the supermarket industry.

“We want to see a fair and competitive supply chain for growers, processors and retailers,” she said.

“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.

“It spends £2bn a year on food and is well placed to support British farmers and food standards through procurement.

“Yet Defra’s latest figures show that the department bought less than a third of its food from British sources in 2011. That must change.”

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