Breadcrumbs
Cross Government Support Vital to Successful Farming Reform - 29 January 2002
Speaking in response to today's publication of the Curry report*, Ewen Cameron, the Government's rural advocate and Countryside Agency chairman, said: "Don Curry's team have identified a clear vision and the way forward; now we need action by the Government. Many of the reforms proposed confirm what we and other organisations have been calling for for several years.
"Now is the time to turn words into actions, but to do this requires immediate commitment from Margaret Beckett and the Treasury. Achieving 10 per cent modulation by 2004, which the Treasury must match, is already possible. But we need Mrs Beckett to engage with our European partners to broaden the things this 'modulated' money can be spent on, to benefit the wider rural community here in England and across the European Union.
"There's lots of potential here for farmers to make a profit out of what the public want - a quality countryside and quality food. The benefits will flow out to rural communities too. New funds released by modulation can make the countryside a better place for visiting, or provide other public benefits such as flood plain management or energy crops. Through our nine land management initiatives, the Countryside Agency is already testing ways in which agri-environment and rural development schemes could work. The lessons learned from these pilots are demonstrating how this new approach can be applied.
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Ewen Cameron continued: "At his farming summit almost two years ago, the Prime Minister charged the Countryside Agency to help consumers make the link between the food they buy and the countryside they love, and to support farmers' efforts to market their produce directly to customers. Our 'Eat the View' initiative does just that. We feel Don Curry's enthusiasm for a more coherent approach to establishing new markets for and publicising local produce is a welcome step forward.
"Through Eat the View we have been working with the Regional Development Agencies, Food from Britain and other key regional players, including the regional food groups. Now is the time for far greater regional co-operation.
"This report provides the impetus for fundamental changes in farming and should set both our farmers and rural communities well on the road to recovery. The future of the English countryside depends on swift action"
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Notes to editors
*The report from the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, chaired by Sir Donald Curry.
The Countryside Agency is responsible for advising government and taking action on issues affecting the social, economic and environmental well being of the English countryside. www.countryside.gov.uk
The Countryside Agency's submission to the Commission on the Future of Farming and Food can be found at www.countryside.gov.uk/farming by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.
