CLA President, William Worsley, has today (Thursday 3 March) told landowners from across England and Wales that the farming industry will need to restructure to satisfy a world that demands more food of high quality and low price.
In a wide-ranging speech which covered farming, land management and the rural economy, Mr Worsley promised that the CLA would be brave enough to:” think the unthinkable, to grasp the nettle of difficult issues and continue to provide the long-term thought-leadership the industry and the public demanded.
“There is no sense in pretending farming will remain the same, it won’t - but we must not be afraid of change, we need to think far into the future, to prepare our members for what is around the corner, to make the coming decades brighter so that rural businesses can continue to survive and thrive.
Speaking at the CLA’s spring council meeting in London, Mr Worsley said that without a Common Agricultural Policy, farming as we know it would not exist.
“It is essential that we keep the CAP but we need to do so in a way that is acceptable to Society as a whole.”
The CLA, he said had relentlessly pursued the concept of “Food and Environmental Security” so that the CAP could help maintain the capacity to produce food while at the same time protecting and sustaining the natural environment.
“That means farmers need to be paid for producing food and for helping the environment,” he said.
Agri-environment schemes were, he said, key to environmental policy in England and Wales - providing the basic tools with which land managers achieve environmental goals.
“Generations of rural land managers have taken responsibility for the stewardship of the landscapes and habitats we all want to safeguard. The huge recreation and tourism industry their land supports bears witness to its beauty and popularity. The public wants to experience lovely landscapes and vibrant wildlife, pure water and clean air, but it all comes at a price. Those who manage the countryside must be properly rewarded for all they do.”
The CLA President promised that the CLA would continue to press the Government to go ahead with the proposals for a badger cull to start to tackle the “horrendous problem” of Bovine TB and also talked about the challenges of lobbying the Coalition Government, taxation issues, forestry, the Uplands, water, the crazy cost of coastal access and the need to modernise the public rights of way network. He said that, done well, the Localism Bill could boost much-needed entrepreneurship in the countryside but added that there were aspects of the Bill which horrified him.
Mr Worsley said the emergency review of the Feed-in Tariff to encourage more farm-based Anaerobic Digestion was a welcome response to CLA lobbying - but he warned that the Government had, at the same time, damaged investment in solar PV by fast-tracking a review of proposals for installations of over 50 kilowat.
In response to a question from the CLA South West representatives Mr Worlsey said the CLA would be pushing the Government very hard to maintain the currently agreed level of Feed-in Tariffs for solar energy.
He also called for reforms to the planning system which he said, was “too complicated and too expensive” and added that it was vital that rural businesses were served by a planning system that was fully effective.
“It is in our interest, and the interest of the nation, that rural business prospers. For this, we need the right policies – policies that are well considered, sensible and avoid excessive regulation” he said.
Notes To Newsdesks
A full copy of William Worsley’s speech to the CLA Councilcan be downloaded from the CLA website at: www.cla.org.uk
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