Farming Industry: Support

Lord Carrington Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Carrington (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as a farmer, as set out in the register. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, for this debate. The support called for should not be a return to the subsidies we have just abolished but the establishment of a level playing field on trade, together with a food and farming strategy to promote productivity and develop export markets. Other noble Lords have covered every aspect of the labour issues and trade deals, and I will avoid repetition. In the seconds available, I will concentrate on the overall context in which these farming issues arise and what a huge number of farmers, faced with so much policy uncertainty, are thinking, so that we can identify a sensible way forward.

First, farmers still do not know enough about the financial viability of government schemes as they pertain to their circumstances. Secondly, they are fully aware that current government support is guaranteed only for the life of this Government. Thirdly, they know that, although we produce the best food in the world, most customers buy according to price, not quality. Fourthly, they know that options such as planting trees, rewilding or selling carbon credits are difficult to reverse. Fifthly, they know that, from a financial return standpoint, covering their farms with houses and other fixed assets is unbeatable. It is therefore unsurprising if there is limited appetite for government schemes.

However, clarity on government food and farming policy would make a huge difference, so that there is an agreed land use framework that encompasses food production for our security. Can the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, tell us what sort of level of domestic food production the Government envisage? Will farmland be protected under a land use strategy? What risk assessments have been done on the production of domestic food with the full implementation of the Agriculture Act? When this is clear, together with the labour and trade policies, farmers can sensibly plan for the future.