Hill Farmers (Incomes) (Hansard, 19 March 1987)

§ 2. Mr. Wallace
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate of the prospects for hill farmers' incomes in 1987.

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. John Selwyn Gummer)
The 11 per cent. increase in the hill livestock compensatory allowances last year will continue to benefit hill farmers this year to help to maintain the stability of their incomes.

§ Mr. Wallace
Has the Minister had an opportunity to read the speech last week by the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland? He described the income trends for producers in hill and upland areas as "appalling and derisory". What is the Minister's response to that? When will producers in the upland areas have the change of fortune that the Government have been so swift to promise, but so slow to deliver?

§ Mr. Gummer
I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman has noticed that in 1986–87 the net farm income per farm in less-favoured area cattle and sheep farms was equal to the index for dairy farms and better than all other sectors. That hardly tallies with what he has said.

§ Sir Peter Mills
Does my right hon. Friend realise that hill farm incomes will continue to drop in the future unless something is done about the green pound? The tremendous importation of meat from Germany and Ireland has meant that the return to the farmers from British beef is at its lowest ebb for a long time. Something must be done about the green pound.

§ Mr. Gummer
I am sure my hon. Friend will agree that that matter affects the whole of the beef industry. The green pound affects the whole of agriculture, not merely the LFAs. I was addressing myself specifically to that point. My hon. Friend is, however, quite right in saying that British agriculture is in difficulty because of the effect of the green rates. We shall be discussing that in the first two days of the price fixing. The British Government have very much in mind the concern of the whole industry to see that there is fair competition with the rest of Europe. I think my hon. Friend will agree that the recent movements of sterling have helped to some extent.

§ Mr. Campbell-Savours
What about the incomes of hill farm producers of lamb, particularly those in the Lake District? Will the Minister give an undertaking that no hill farm producer of lamb whose farm has been subject to contamination as a result of the Chernobyl incident will lose money, and that he is insulated against any losses that arise from that incident?

§ Mr. Gummer
I hope that the hon. Gentleman will at least admit that, unlike any other country in Europe, we have done a great deal to compensate people in the hills after that incident. It is curious that there is never a single word of gratitude from the hon. Gentleman for the enormous amount that has been done by the Government to help people in this unfortunate circumstance. After three stages of help to the farmers concerned, we are now discussing the matter yet again with the NFU to see what else we can do to help. There is no question but that the Government's record is extremely good in that area.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
Notwithstanding all that the Minister has been saying, does he not accept that the December agreement will aggravate the serious situation that faces a number of upland beef producers in Britain? In particular, can he not recognise the harmful effect of unfair competition from imports from the Republic of Ireland? Will he take any initiative either to support the British beef sector or to curtail the discriminatory advantages that are currently enjoyed by producers in the Irish Republic?

§ Mr. Gummer
The hon. Gentleman must accept that I have said clearly that there are problems because of the difference in green rates. I am not disguising that. But I remind the hon. Gentleman, when he brings out his catalogue in that way, that the effect of those measures on the beef producer in Britain was considerably less than in any other country in the European Community, including the Republic of Ireland, where the fall in the carcase price was considerably greater than in this country.