HC Deb 23 May 1960 vol 624 cc23-6
28 and 29. Mr. Langford-Holt

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) in view of the steady increase in the percentage of food consumed in the United Kingdom which is produced at home, what is his policy regarding the percentage that should be home-produced in the next five years;

(2) whether he will publish the amounts, which it is his policy should be produced at home during each of the next five years, of all items included in the Annual Price Review.

Mr. Godber

The Government do not set production targets for individual commodities, but they do draw the attention of farmers to the problems of the market in commodities covered by the guarantees, in the White Paper following each Annual Review. Farmers have the benefit of those guarantees but have to keep in mind the need to reduce costs and meet market requirements. Provided they do so, there is ample scope for increased production.

Mr. Langford-Holt

Is my hon. Friend aware that farmers are having some difficulty in following the implications of Government policy and that what they want is a clear indiction as to what they will be expected to produce in the years ahead? That is one of the reasons why there is a feeling of uncertainty in the farming community.

Mr. Godber

I have heard this criticism levelled, but I do not think it is justified. I do not think it is realistic in present-day conditions to think in terms of food targets. It depends very much on the condition of the market, and if one sets a food target it does not relate to the individual farmer: it relates to the farming community as a whole. So it is of no real value to the farmer.

Mr. Peart

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that this is a feeling which is widespread throughout the agricultural community, and has even been expressed by hon. Members from the party opposite? Will the Government give a lead to increase gross production? After all, the Government in their policy have stated that they wish to keep it as it is. The farmers want a lead, but the Government are not giving it.

Mr. Godber

The Government have given an effective lead in this matter. If the hon. Gentleman refers to paragraph 14 of the White Paper, he will see that it sets out precisely the Government's views in regard to production policy, and they were also adequately and very fully explained to the House by my right hon. Friend only last week.

Mr. Peart

Why is it that branches of the National Farmers' Union throughout the country have condemned the policy and even asked for the Minister to resign?

Mr. Godber

The National Farmers' Union is free to state its views. Having been connected with farming all my life, I am aware that whatever Government is in power the Farmers' Union does not always see eye to eye with the Government.

Sir G. Nicholson

I accept all that my hon. Friend said, but will not he bring himself to face the fact that anxiety and disquiet prevail in the farming community? The agricultural community as a whole is not fully satisfied that the rôle it is intended to play in the future is yet decided. Cannot he bring more certainty into the picture?

Mr. Godber

I really do not think there is anything that I can add to the detailed speech my right hon. Friend made in this House only last week dealing with this very point, when he made it quite clear that we were not seeking to restrict production. All we were saying was that farmers should produce in the most efficient and economic way possible. If they did that they would have nothing to fear.

Mr. Langford-Holt

Will my hon. Friend look at this again? The farming community does not want a precise guide for each individual commodity but a general indication as to whether over the years it is expected to increase the percentage of home produce or keep it steady, or reduce it. The community wants a guide.

Mr. Godber

Again, all I can say is that my right hon. Friend stated this very point very clearly last week. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."1 Yes, he did. I suggest that hon. Members re-read my right hon. Friend's speech, in which he said that there was room for increased production provided that the needs of the market were met and we had a proper regard for the cost of production. If we were to seek to do anything other than that, we should merely be letting down the farmers in the long run, because it would not be in their interests to go on increasing ad lib without any regard to the market.