HC Deb 06 February 1992 vol 203 cc445-6
8. Mr. Marland

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has had to his recent policy document "Our Farming Future".

Mr. Gummer

"Our Farming Future" has been widely acknowledged as a realistic and helpful statement of the Government's approach to the challenges facing the farming industry in the 1990s.

Mr. Marland

Is my right hon. Friend aware of how useful, helpful and informative many farmers have found the document "Our Farming Future"? That is because it demonstrates how poorly British farmers co-operate to sell their products—I hope that my right hon. Friend's marketing grants will assist with that problem—and spells out in words of one syllable that the British farmer will not be discriminated against in Europe.

May I take this opportunity of wishing my right hon. Friend the very best of luck at the Agriculture Council meeting next week, when the future of agricultural policy and the appalling proposals of Mr. MacSharry will be discussed?

Mr. Gummer

I thank my hon. Friend. I think that he will agree that "Our Farming Future" could cover only the factors over which we have real control. The decisions that will be made on the common agricultural policy and on the GATT talks will be those which most affect farmers in the future. I want to get those decisions as quickly as possible, but they must be the right decisions because unless they are, the future of British farming will be under a cloud.

Mr. Skinner

Is the Minister aware that there are at least three farmers in the Bolsover area whose future is bleak? Since June of last year two of them have not been allowed to sell their milk because it is contaminated with dioxins. The Minister has promised on several occasions to ensure that the matter is cleared up. He has received a letter from one of the farmers which I sent him a few days ago. It is time he responded and paid compensation to those farmers, and allowed them to get on with earning their livelihood, instead of telling them that there is nothing for them from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Mr. Gummer

No one would have guessed from that question that every one of the farmers affected has been paid regularly while we carry out the necessary tests to discover what has caused the problem. I have never known a Member of Parliament so unwilling to accept the work that has been done by the Ministry on behalf of his constituents.

Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith

Does my right hon. Friend agree that there will not be much of a farming future unless British farmers improve their marketing arrangements so that they can compete with foreign imports?

Mr. Gummer

I am sure that that is right. Many farmers are taking that message seriously. I compliment the National Farmers Union on bringing out an adventurous scheme to complement what the Government are doing and what farmers are doing. The whole industry is determined to make these changes, and the recent announced by the Milk Marketing Board of its determination to change its own structure is yet another example of an entirely new and welcome move in the industry.

Dr. David Clark

In view of the exhortation by the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Hill) a few minutes ago that we should buy British when we buy food, I wonder whether the Minister can tell the House what representations he has received from the Ministry of Defence on his consultation document? Can he further explain to the House how the Ministry of Defence justifies importing thousands of tonnes of beef from South America to feed our forces when we have almost 1 million tonnes in intervention in Europe?

Mr. Gummer

I find it a little difficult to take that kind of question from an hon. Gentleman who said that we ought to eat New Zealand apples and refuse to eat British sausages. That aspect of the hon. Gentleman's role is very difficult to take. I also find it difficult to take from somebody who has said that farmers have not done too badly. Farmers have been rather lucky, he said in a broadcast today. The hon. Gentleman has ceased to have any credibility in the farming industry. I am happy to tell him that my right hon. Friend is now looking to see whether there are better ways of sourcing Ministry of Defence needs among British and other European farmers.