Growers and farmers leaders have called on the government to have a radical rethink of its attitude to production agriculture and horticulture.
NFU president Peter Kendall was speaking at Defra’s vision for the future of agriculture with secretary of state Hilary Benn on Monday. “For government, the main challenge is to dramatically change its attitude to farming, and its own culture,” said Kendall, reminding industry stakeholders at the launch of the dual challenge of maintaining a profitable supply chain and shrinking its agricultural footprint.
“Achieving this vision will provide us with many challenges - to society, the Government and of course for the farming community itself. There is urgent need for change on regulation, research and government priorities. Although we welcome commitment to reduce current regulatory burdens by 25 per cent, I am afraid I have to remain sceptical as to the real impact on the farming community as long as Defra’s approach to introducing new regulation does not change.
On R&D, if the agricultural sector is required to simultaneously increase production while reducing its environmental footprint, it is evident we need to use smart technology and have an adequate framework of government support. Disappointingly we are seeing cuts to the applied research budget despite acknowledgement of the joint challenges of globalisation and climate change.
“But I would not like to think that the future of agriculture is only the responsibility of government. We see the market as key in ensuring a profitable agricultural sector, and consumers and others in the supply chain need to play a key role in ensuring that the high standards and values of British produce are properly rewarded.”
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