Kendall criticises absence of farming in report

Defra said its new ‘ambitious’ Mainstreaming Sustainable Development package,  announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Defra Secretary Caroline Spelman on Monday, would ‘help build a stronger green Government’. 

The document outlines various measures to ensure Government policies ‘deliver sustainable economic growth, improve our quality of life and protect our natural environment now and for future generations’. These include:

• The Government ‘leading by example’ by reducing its waste generation, water use and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Ensuring the Government buys more sustainable and efficient products.
• Developing measurable indicators, such as the quality of the natural environment, to monitor sustainability across government,.
• Mrs Spelman to sit on the key domestic policy Cabinet committees to enforce the Government’s commitment to sustainability.

Mrs Spelman said: “Genuine sustainability will never again be an add-on or afterthought.  It will be at the heart of everything we do – from making policy to running government buildings or purchasing goods and services.”

However, Mr Kendall noted the absence of any reference to farming in the document. “It’s not what’s in the vision that worries me, it’s what’s not in it,” Mr Kendall said. “As I said at the NFU conference last month, I’m becoming increasingly frustrated at how policy makers see the solutions to the big challenges lying somewhere else, when farming should be at the heart of things.

“The Foresight report talked about the global sustainability challenge that follows from the massive increase in demand for food. That means every policy being put under ‘food lens’ for its impact on sustainable food production - I just don’t see how that’s been picked up by Defra in this Vision.”

At the recent NFU conference Mr Kenball questioned whether the coalition Government was living up to its promise of pushing farming up the political agenda and called for a ‘food plan’ to reflect the challenges laid out by the Foresight report.

Mrs Spelman responded by telling farmers: “You have our backing. And you have it in writing. Our business plan shows exactly how much we understand and value the work you do.”

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