Keep farming productive – NFu president addresses East anglia conference

NFU President Peter Kendall will be heralding a new era of change and opportunity for farmers when he addresses the East Anglia Regional Conference on Thursday.

Placing agriculture at the heart of a thriving national economy, Mr Kendall is expected to call for maximising the potential of farmland for both food production and bioenergy, ensuring farmers are ready and able to take advantage of the new opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

With Defra already implementing spending cuts to tackle its cash crisis Mr Kendall will speak out against a proposed increase in irrational 'green taxes' on agriculture which would be counter-productive, imposing extra costs on farmers without tackling environmental issues.

Speaking before the meeting he said: "In light of the Stern report, some NGOs continue to advocate the use of taxes on farm inputs but this is just a bureaucratic way to create money to push around into different areas and is not conducive to keeping farmers competitive.

"The way to tackle the issues surrounding climate change is to include farmers as part of the solution – we are more than ready and able to rise to the challenges of providing renewable energy. But we need firm commitment from Government to push this new industry forward and create a sustainable market.

"Many voluntary schemes are already working to help farmers reduce their environmental footprint on the countryside but the industry needs to work together to maintain the profitability of mainstream farming.

"The country needs a professional and forward-thinking agricultural sector and the agricultural sector needs a professional organisation to take it into the future. We are working harder than ever to build better partnerships to keep the industry profitable and make the most of the challenges and opportunities that keep this one of the most important sectors in the economy."