NFU Deputy President, Meurig Raymond has joined farmers’ leaders from the seven other member countries of the G8 in calling for the world’s politicians to make agriculture a strategic sector that can both respond to the twin challenges of food security and climate change.
The Common Declaration, signed this week by all eight organisations from the members of the G8, points out that both short and long-term policies are needed, especially those that stimulate investment in agriculture. Improving productivity and competitiveness will also need to be central to development policies and investigation is needed into how best to balance power in the supply chain. As well as drawing attention to the challenge of climate change, the declaration also calls on governments to promote renewable energy use on farms as part of a desire to create a sustainable global economy.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Raymond said: "This was a prestigious and important event organised by our Italian counterparts Coldiretti, leading up to the G8 summit being held in July at La Maddelena where the declaration will be presented. The meeting gave us chance to reaffirm what the NFU believes are the key challenges for food and farming as well as the solutions to them.
"We are all aware of the inevitable growth in demand that stems from a rising world population. Farmers will have to meet this demand at the same time as climate change puts constraints on land use and using fewer inputs. To do this we need to see much more and coordinated investment in science and technology and the means to transfer this to farmers. We also discussed agricultural policies at length. Whilst many farmers are nervous about the effects of market volatility, uncertainty and financial speculation, we expressed our view that the market, operating fairly, should remain the cornerstone of future policy.
"Finally as representatives from the G8 countries, each of us has a responsibility both to our members and to those in less developed countries. Bearing this in mind it was important to make the point that we should not seek to pursue new avenues of protectionism as some food exporting countries have, which can do real damage to food markets in developing countries."
