§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline the Government's long-term intentions for the British farming industry, separately for each sector; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Government continue to provide substantial direct and indirect financial support to the agriculture industry.
The Government's intention is that the United Kingdom agriculture industry should be soundly based and competitive in marketing its products. In particular, the industry needs to prepare itself to take full advantage of the opportunities and challenges which the completion of the single European market of 320 million consumers will bring.
In EC negotiations and domestically the Government will continue to:
- promote the role of the market as the key determinant of farmers' choice of action;
- press for measures which bring supply and demand into better balance;
- seek to reduce further the role of institutional support; demand fair competition with no discrimination between member states.
The Government also advocate policies aimed at helping to achieve a better balance between agricultural production and the needs of the rural economy and environment as a whole.
A number of new initiatives have been introduced to encourage farmers to consider ways of utilising their assets to augument their income in ways which reduce surplus production. These include set aside, and the farm woodlands and diversification schemes.