We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.NFU 2010: Kendall calls for fight on CAP
NFU president Peter Kendall has made a plea to all the major political parties ahead of the General Election to fight for a strong Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Opening the two-day NFU conference, Mr Kendall began by noting the ‘election feel in the air’ – a reference to both the national poll, expected on May 6, and the union’s own leadership elections, due to take place on Wednesday (February 24).
The main theme of his speech was a call for ‘smart Government spending’ to help farmers meet the challenges of increasing food production, while helping to combat climate change and boost biodiversity.
Within this was a strong message on the CAP to politicians from the three main political parties who are due to follow Mr Kendall on to the platform to deliver their own pre-election farming addresses.
Mr Kendall said he welcomed Defra Secretary Hilary Benn’s recent Food 2030 strategy ‘as a start’. But he said the job for the next Government and the industry was to ensure it is not consigned to the ‘Whitehall pre-election initiatives’ waste paper bin’.
He noted Mr Benn’s recent comments about the need for a CAP that recognises farming as ‘the progressive industry of the future’ and ‘supports productive farming’.
“We now need the next Government – whatever colour, or shade – to push the case for a CAP which supports productive farming,” Mr Kendall said.
“Bluntly, the volatility in the markets over the last two years has demonstrated just how vital direct support is.
“I know that all the main parties have policies that call for the reform of the CAP. To those who are set on eliminating direct support and channelling all funding to the delivery of environmental public goods, I’d say that agriculture is too strategic to be seen simply as an instrument for environmental delivery.
“I urge you to think again. We need productive farming, from the uplands of Cumbria and Snowdonia to the flatlands of the fens.”
He had a special message for the Conservative front bench, who he urged to ‘think again’ about ‘wanting to see CAP funding re-nationalised’.
“That would signal the end of the common policy and simply lead to more competitive distortions within what is meant to be a single, European market. In short, our message is clear and unequivocal. The NFU wants to see a CAP which is what it says on the tin: ‘Common, Agricultural and a Policy’,” Mr Kendall said.
