Food security and the proposed new EU pesticide directive came to the forefront of industry concerns, as Hilary Benn gave his annual speech at the Oxford Farming Conference.
In a wide-ranging presentation tackling climate change, organics, recession and protecting the environment, the DEFRA secretary of state, pictured, issued a rallying cry to farmers, promising: “I want British agriculture to produce as much food as possible. No ifs. No buts.”
He promised that the government would make food security its priority in the coming years.
“The best way for the UK to ensure its food security in the 21st century will be through strong, productive and sustainable British agriculture, and trading freely with other nations,” said Benn. “Part of the answer is in our own homes, in what we choose to buy.”
With the industry awaiting an announcement on a possible EU ban on various pesticides, Hugh Oliver-Bellasis of the Royal Agricultural Society asked the minister why Europe may take a move that could reduce production severely.
Benn said: “I am opposing the directive as currently posed. Rest assured we will continue to do the right thing and see what the council decides later this month.”
Benn also suggested farmers should take “more pride” in low-carbon projects and an award be given out, sparking reaction from Robin Maynard, Soil Association campaigns director.
Maynard said: “Given that organic farming uses 26 per cent less energy to produce the same amount of food as non-organic agriculture, organic farmers would be top contenders for Mr Benn’s proposed low-carbon farming award. It is time the secretary of state and DEFRA finally acknowledged that there is a burgeoning body of British farmers doing exactly what he and the public say they want, producing sustainable, climate-friendly food.”
Benn finished by stressing the importance of the UK’s role in the global industry: “The industry has the capacity, the ideas, the new products and the skills to increase production to meet the needs of a rising world population. The future of the world will literally depend on farming.”
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