§ 17. Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will undertake a survey designed to provide the information on which a complete assessment may be based of the contribution agriculture could make to the balance of payments.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesThe E.D.C. for Agriculture made a valuable and comprehensive assessment of the technical possibilities of import saving in its report of 1968, and I see no need for a further survey.
§ Mr. Godman IrvineIt is a considerable time ago that the Select Committee on Agriculture explained that it was impossible to make an adequate forecast of the way in which agriculture could be helped in this way without more research. When will the right hon. Gentleman set that in motion?
§ Mr. HughesThe Ministry itself is engaged in research and the E.D.C. for Agriculture is also constantly studying the matter, issuing reports from time to time. Remembering also the work done by the universities, it can be said that agriculture is being studied continuously.
§ Mr. StodartIs not the right hon. Gentleman embarrassed or, preferably, ashamed at coming to the House after the report of the "Little Neddy", having recently allowed, despite all he said about import saving, the import of 20,000 more tons of butter and allowing the share to the home producers of the sheep market to drop catastrophically to 33 per cent.?
§ Mr. HughesThe hon. Gentleman is guilty of a number of inaccuracies in one supplementary question. We study the reports of the "Little Neddy" for agriculture carefully and we think that they are valuable. The hon. Gentleman must remember that its recently published report was compiled well before the Annual Review, so that it did not have at its disposal the most up-to-date figures.