Farmers must wake up to changes in public perception brought about by foot and mouth. Never have the connections between our beautiful countryside and the farmers who manage it been clearer. But farmers must recognise that the public has different p...
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Last chance for farmers to show they are worth £3 billion of public investment - 4 January 2002

Farmers must wake up to changes in public perception brought about by foot and mouth. Never have the connections between our beautiful countryside and the farmers who manage it been clearer. But farmers must recognise that the public has different priorities to those it held only a decade or so ago. This stark challenge to the agricultural sector was set out by the Countryside Agency chairman and rural advocate, Ewen Cameron, who was speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference today (Friday 4 January).

Mr Cameron made clear that farmers' destinies were in their own hands. In a speech in which he was speaking as a farmer, as well as the Countryside Agency chair, he said: "I believe, perhaps perversely, that the devastation of foot and mouth has given this industry a chance, perhaps its last one..." As a result, with public sympathy on their side, he claimed farmers had a chance to win back the public's confidence. 

That would mean ditching old arguments about the government's and public's lack of understanding. He went on: "We need to avoid a very real danger - that the taxpayer decides that the £3 billion of the public purse spent on supporting agriculture is just too high a price to pay.

"As the new rural entrepreneurs, those responsible for agricultural production must put in front of government and the taxpayer an investment plan that they can take seriously... that plan should be based on the Countryside Agency's sustainable land management strategy."

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The new approach looks to mix and match different outputs from the land in a sustainable way. And it should have as one of its product lines, public benefits which the taxpayer is prepared to pay for such as landscapes, habitats and flood plain management.

Among the new ways to profit from managing the land Mr Cameron wants to encourage new markets for non-food uses of land. "There are many possibilities here, including crops grown for renewable energy. But there is a need for government to develop a national framework for non-food crops setting out where we want to be in ten years time and who has to do what to get there. It will involve more than one department - but will put the government at the forefront of the new agenda." 

The Countryside Agency has already set out its vision for sustainable land management in its Strategy for Sustainable Land Management in England. This vision focuses on the goal of a profitable land-based sector that works for people who are employed in it, surrounding communities and those who visit and support the countryside. The strategy is available on our web site at www.countryside.gov.uk 

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Agricultural production accounts for just 0.8% of the total economy - this is down from 1.5% in 1996 3% in 1973. It now employs just 2% of the total workforce.

Ewen Cameron is speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, at The Examination Schools, High Street Oxford at 9am on Friday 4 January 2002.

The Countryside Agency is responsible for advising government and taking action on issues relating to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the English countryside.