The idea of developing horticulture in Britain to displace imports flown in from tropical countries has been ridiculed by the Welsh government’s environment and farming minister.
Carwyn Jones’s ministry is currently writing a new strategy for the country’s horticulture sector.
But in comments to the National Assembly he appeared to close down several of the options which Welsh politicians are pressing on him.
In particular Jones questioned the value of ‘localised food’. Not only would the switch of production from tropical countries increase the food’s carbon-footprint as British glasshouses would have to be heated, but it would also harm employment abroad, he said.
With Assembly elections due on May 3, Jones has been engaged in a long-running, hard-hitting battle with the agriculture industry over aid payments for high-lying land.
Opposition members believe his hard line on agriculture is connected to his hope to succeed Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister, who plans to retire as Labour leader in two years. He is currently 67.
The rewrite of the 2003 horticulture strategy - which focussed on need for co-operation, R&D, and development of new products - is being chaired by Dr Mark Simkin, principal of the Welsh College of Horticulture, of Northop, near Mold.
The group will now be focussing on gathering market intelligence to identify sales opportunities, targeting profitable sectors and encouraging innovation.
The group’s instructions to focus on healthy eating and access to local food would seem contradicted by the minister’s comments.
Mick Bates, a Liberal Democrat sheep farmer on the committee, had praised a Montgomery farm which supplies a local high school with vegetables. He called for a level playing field over fuel prices.
But Jones countered: “Other countries have national advantages that we do not and which we cannot replicate. I have been to countries where people receive nothing in subsidy. They produce and often find themselves having to compete against heavily subsidised exports from the EU that end up being dumped in their own countries. Their idea of a level playing field would be to get rid of subsidies.
“What is important is that we have a competitive product and one that can be produced to the advantage of both the economy and the environment.”
Brynle Williams, a Conservative member who farms beef and sheep, then spoke about the importance of “localised food”. Mr Jones replied, “We should be a little careful when we talk about localised food, particularly when it comes to the growing of fruit and vegetables.
“For example, it is far more damaging to the environment for some fruit to be grown in hot houses in the UK in terms of the carbon footprint that that leaves than for them to be grown elsewhere in the world where it would benefit the people who live there.
“We need to concentrate on those vegetables and fruits that we can grow in the UK with an acceptable carbon footprint. If we grow vegetables to suit a local market, we need to ensure that it does not adversely affect developing countries in their ability to export, so that people do not starve.”
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