I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Farming is on the threshold of crisis - Soil Association
SIXTY years of farm intensification has put the UK food system on the threshold of crisis, the UK’s leading organic lobby has warned at its annual conference today (Wednesday, February 3).
Patrick Holden, Soil Association policy director, kicked off their annual conference in Birmingham this morning.
He painted a bleak picture of UK agriculture which he said had been farming unsustainably for too many years.
He called for a seismic change towards low input farm practices ‘before it’s too late’.
“Business as usual is not an option. Our vision is for a radical transformation of agriculture within the next 15 years,” he said, adding organic farming was the only truely sustainable option.
A panel of politicians from across the major political parties responded to Mr Holden’s call.
Hilary Benn, environment Secretary, agreed that farming must undergo serious change if it was to be sustainable into the future and said organic farmers had a great role to play.
“We have to work together to feed the world,” he said. “You have a wealth of knowledge and expertise which will be in increasing demand across the world,” he added.
Jim Paice, Shadow Farming Minister, issued a word of warning to the organic lobby. He cautioned against adopting a system of agriculture that could impact on production, adding modern agricultural methods would be essential to feed a growing population.
“We have to look at our production in a global context. We must increase food production in the UK, and we must do it sustainably, otherwise we will be competing for imports with places like Africa where the population is due to increase by a billion,” he said.
Roger Williams, Liberal Democrat agricultural spokesman, challenged the Soil Association, and the wider organic movement, to be less defensive if they were to achieve their targets towards sustainable agriculture.
“Conventional and organic farming can learn lessons off each other. We must cooperate not alienate if we are going to feed the world without destroying its resources,” he said.
Share
