Farming: Government must act

Mr Padfield said 2002 will be remembered as the year of yet more inquiries into the farming industry, further farm job losses and the massive Liberty and Livelihood March in London.

'Farming is at the heart of the food industry, providing 550,000 jobs, but while Government fiddles 15,000 jobs have been lost in the past year alone.

'2003 must be the year that Government finds its way and gets behind the wheel of what is one of Britain's last remaining primary industries,' said Mr Padfield, who farms sheep and has a touring caravan site at Renhurst Farm, Mark Cross, near Crowborough.

Mr Padfield said that farmers had been working hard to develop strong branding for regional produce, to get closer to their customers and to develop quality assurance schemes.

'Farmers are getting closer to customers, through direct sales of food at farmers' markets and via farm shops. They are now also looking to supply the catering industry, including pubs and hotels, and to service food providers who are under contract to local authorities and health trusts.

'Livestock farmers who have got together through a co-operative known as Sussex Producers' Consortium, hope to be selling their own brand of meat and meat products at a premium very soon.'

Mr Padfield voiced concerns about the poor return farmers receive from the food chain.

'Farmers want to see action from a Government that shows it wants to help build equal relationships across the food chain, where all participants, including farmers and growers, can make a profit.'

He said that the other crucial question was why were European farm-gate prices higher than in the UK, when food prices in Europe are no higher than in Britain. In the last five years UK farm incomes have fallen by 42 per cent, while in Germany they have risen by 34 per cent.

'Only a profitable agriculture can deliver benefits for the environment and the economy. Farmers manage 75 per cent of UK land and as their future looks uncertain, so does the future management of our countryside, which underpins a tourism industry worth 12 billion.

'The small fields, ancient hedges and woodlands of the High Weald are valuable landscape features managed by farmers. The new management plan for the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (drafted by local authorities) must provide incentives so that traditional management can continue. For far too long we have seen numerous reports, but no implementation of all these grand plans.'

Mr Padfield continued: 'Farmers must also be at the forefront of any future management body for the proposed South Downs National Park.'

He also praised a new Government scheme, known as the Entry Level Scheme, that will reward farmers for land management and fund the costs of environmental care. However, he said that the UK Government must follow the lead of other EU member states to draw down funds from Europe and ensure that UK Rural Development schemes were not chronically under-funded, as had been the case previously.