Agriculture and Fishing

Agriculture and Fishing FA RMING deserves a higher priority than i s accorded it at present. The problem is very clear: we have considerable over-production of food; current European Community subsidies promote even higher production; cost-effectiveness requires the use of intensive methods of animal husbandry , and a reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilisers; soil erosion is an increasing ecological threat not least through the use of nitrates; the experience of milk production would not commend the further use of quotas. A ll this produces is large quantities of mediocre quality food that nobody wants. Appropriate quantities of high quality food would make more sense for everyone. Add to this the decline in the number of small farms and the amount of land being held on to in the hope of a capital gain from acquiring planning permission for building development, and it is clear that farming is in crisis. Numerically , farmers may have little political clout but it is in the national interest that a healthy agricultural industry is promoted and sustained. The present basis of subsidy is clearly unhealthy but any substantial reduction in subsidy before it can be better targeted would simply make matters worse. Liberal policies for agriculture are designed to encourage: 1. farmi ng to work with the env ironment rathe r than again st (eg: organ ic farmin g); 2. a ret urn to tr adi tional far min g; 3. sustainable farmi ng to the cou ntrys ide (ie rota tions , hedge rows, et c); 4. the re turn o f agr icultural worker s and their skills; 5. the pro duct ion of foo d free fro m pes ticid es and o ther ch emica ls; 6. small farms and try to reverse the endless cre ation of la rger and larger “agri- businesses”; 7. prov ide finan cial sup port so that far ming ca n procee d along the abo ve lines. To achieve these aims, Liberals call for: 1. majo r change s in agricu ltural po licy and su bsidy to be ann ounc ed as far as poss ible in advance so that producers can have time to plan for them; 2. the swit chin g of subsi dies fro m quant ity to qua lity ove r a negotia ted number of years in each type of farming, so that there is a financial advantage in moving to organic farming and no encouragemen t of over-production; 3. a more fle xible s cale of su bsidy s o that thos e doing a va luable jo b in diffi cult conditions - such as hill farmers - receive better financial recognition of their work particularly as it is often in such areas that farmers play a key role in preserving the traditional countryside for leisure use; 4. the esta blish ment of a Coop erativ e Land Agen cy under the co ntrol of the ind ustry itself, with rules preventing the exploitation of land values through potential

Agriculture and Fishing

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