Brown told challenge begins at home

Meeting the food challenge should begin at home, and not with biofuels, said the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) .

If the Government is serious about helping to tackle the developing world food crisis, it should be doing much more to realise the potential offered by its own farmers and growers, according to the NFU.

Commenting on this week’s food price ‘summit’ at Number 10 Downing St, NFU president Peter Kendall, who was present, said that despite the obvious importance of stepping up food production around the world, the government still seemed to be reluctant to ask Britain’s farmers and growers to play their full part.

“We have enormous sympathy and concern with the problems being faced by farmers in developing countries, and it is absolutely right that they should be helped to increase their production,” he said.

“But we haven’t heard nearly enough about agricultural development here in Britain. It’s almost as if it is seen as somehow politically incorrect to acknowledge that farmers and growers in this country have a vital role to play in contributing to the security, not just of British food supplies, but of the world’s.

“As farmers and growers, we are ready and willing to rise to the challenge. But a clear acknowledgement of the value of stepping up production, backed by some serious investment in research and development and accompanied by a genuine attack on the red tape which is holding us back, would make a huge difference.”

Kendall said that, by appearing to load a disproportionate amount of blame for world food price inflation on biofuels and talking about investment in agricultural development in developing countries, but not in Britain, the government seems to have failed to grasp the potential of British agriculture and science in getting to grips with the problem.

“The bottom line is that food prices around the world have increased because we have not produced enough food. That is a direct consequence of the cheap food era, and the lack of investment in agricultural development, both in Britain and around the world, that was such a feature of it,” Kendall said.

“If the government is serious about playing its part in tackling the world food shortage it should begin by taking active steps to encourage productive farming in Britain. Until that happens, farmers will inevitably be sceptical as to whether the government, even now, understands that to provide the world with sufficient food at affordable prices, you have to start by encouraging and enabling your farmers, not just in the developing world, but everywhere.”