The Farmers’ Union of Wales today welcomed the UK Government’s latest vision for food production outlined at this week’s Oxford Farming Conference but it also expressed strong opposition to the government’s determination to abandon the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Food 2030, launched during the conference by UK environment, food and rural affairs secretary Hilary Benn, sets out the government’s view of food production in 20 years time.
“The FUW welcomes the fact that the UK Government has recognised the importance of food production and agriculture, and agrees with many of the broad principles laid out in the document. However, we are fundamentally opposed to the abandonment of the very framework which was designed to address food production and security issues, namely the CAP,” said the union’s president Gareth Vaughan.
“The Food 2030 document continues to advocate Defra’s 2005 Vision for the Agricultural Policy which, their own research shows, would devastate UK agriculture and rural communities, increase food miles, and undermine food security by increasing food importation.
“While many of the principles outlined in the Food 2030 document are commendable, none of them appear to be robust enough to mitigate the devastating impact of abandoning the CAP.
“In fact, the document actually criticises the CAP for resulting in ‘higher prices for farmers’, which makes any talk about wanting profitable farms seem hollow.
“The FUW is fundamentally opposed to abandoning the CAP framework, which was specifically designed to address many of the problems referred to in the Food 2030 document.
“Rather, we believe that the CAP needs to be looked at in the context of an excellent starting point for developing policies that will address food security, environment and climate change concerns.”
