NFU President meets Tony Blair
Peter Kendall, President of the NFU, met with the Prime Minister today at No 10, to discuss current farming and growing issues, including Single Farm Payments, CAP funding, the imbalance in the food chain, TB and farmers' role in combating climate change.
On leaving the meeting Mr Kendall said: "I really welcomed this invitation to meet with the Prime Minister and talk through some of the issues at the forefront of the agricultural and horticultural agendas.
"While making sure farmers receive their Single Farm Payments is at the top of the immediate list, the really critical issue is that farming is able to prosper and be competitive in a functional food chain. I therefore talked to the Prime Minister about the growth of the supermarkets and the competition between them which is now threatening the food supply chain.
"The code of conduct which the Competition Commission recommended in 2000 has failed to have any impact on the way they treat their suppliers. The downward pressure on prices may favour the consumer in the short term but in the long term it will drive producers out of business and ultimately affect product choice and availability.
"The Prime Minister and I also took the opportunity to discuss the role that farmers can play in solving the UK's green energy needs. Biomass, biogas and biofuel have the potential to provide a secure source of electrical power for the country's needs with proven carbon savings. I was anxious for Mr Blair to understand how much farmers can do to provide fuels that will help to combat climate change and for the need for more joined up solutions which must include Government measures.
"Although CAP has already undergone radical reform, the NFU has big concerns about how the EU budget will be handled during the next few months. According to the recent budget deal, individual countries may opt out of funding rural development. We fear that while other EU governments continue to support their rural communities our government may not. If that happens, it will seriously disadvantage British farming. On the same theme, I talked of the huge disadvantages of over-burdensome regulations and the need for a positive plan to curb bovine TB.
"Overall I told the Prime Minister that I was hugely positive about farming and what it could do for the country and for climate change. I told him I want to work in partnership with him to ensure a profitable, competitive industry that provides solutions for consumers and for Britain as a whole."
