Farmers should increase food production during recession, says NFU

Farmers should concentrate on producing more food for Britain in order to combat the recession, according to the president of the National Farmers' Union.

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent Last Updated: 4:10PM GMT 16 Feb 2009

The minister said the Government is committed to helping agriculture produce as much as possible but not at the expense of the environment

In recent years Government policy has encouraged farmers to concentrate on protecting the environment after years of intensive land use.
But with food prices rising and the threat of climate change, farmers are calling on the UK to return to the Second World War ideal of focusing more on food production once again.
Speaking at the NFU Conference in Birmingham, President Peter Kendall said a boost in agriculture would not only help the rural economy but ensure consumers a source of affordable, healthy food.
"From the Second World War for more than 30 years the emphasis was on production," he said.
"Then, a combination of rising environmental awareness, worldwide surpluses and some costly animal health crises turned the focus away from production. The emphasis was on diversification and the environment with too little regard for production.
"The tide has now turned to a third phase. We are in a new era where we must produce more and at the same time impact on the environment less. That is the new agenda for farming – producing more and impacting less.
"This is particularly important when you place farming in the current economic context."
Mr Kendall proposed a number of measures to boost agriculture such as more funding for science, including research into Genetic Modification (GM).
Farmers reacted angrily to Government plans to allow land to go fallow under plans to re-introduce set aside.
Mr Kendall insisted that producing more does not need to impact on the environment.
The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs is proposing around five per cent of land is left fallow to allow wildlife like farmland birds to recover after years of decline.
But Mr Kendall said the move would discourage farmers from using the land left over for existing schemes to protect wildlife or to farm in a sustainable way.
"[It] flies in the face of the desire to produce as much food as possible - and is also likely to have serious unintended consequences for the environment," he said.
Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, was also criticised for refusing to allow a cull of badgers to stop the animals spreading bovine tuberculosis.
The minister said the Government is committed to helping agriculture produce as much as possible but not at the expense of the environment.
"The best way for us to safeguard our food security in the 21st century will be through strong, productive and sustainable British agriculture trading freely with other nations," he said.
"I want British agriculture to produce as much as possible. No ifs. No buts.
"The only requirements are that consumers want what's produced and that the way it is produced sustains our environment and safeguards our landscape."