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A $12 Million Plan to Save the Forests by Buying Them
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A $12 Million Plan to Save the Forests by Buying Them
WINNIE HU . NY Times . 29 january 2002
A "watershed" report into food production and farming in England has called for reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, arguing the current situation is unsustainable. The Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, chaired by Sir Donald Curry, recommends a sea change in the way agricultural subsidies are dispensed. The independent report calls for subsidies to be redirected from producing crops to protecting the countryside. It also recommends that supermarkets be encouraged to sell more locally produced food. Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the report saying that "the current situation benefits no-one: farmers, taxpayers, consumers or the environment". The proposals have led to fears that food prices might be forced up. The president of the National Farmers' Union, Ben Gill, said he feared the proposals, if implemented, would effectively be "robbing Peter to pay Paul" - comments he made ahead of publication. Sir Donald Curry said his commission's vision was of an industry that "farms for profit, that is respected by the public, and that delivers positive benefits for the environment". "Tinkering around the edges will not solve the problem," he said. The commission was set up by Mr Blair last August, in the wake of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Wasted subsidies Agenda for reform
The commission members recognise that only long-term Cap reform will produce the sort of farming they want to see. But they think there is room for improvement much sooner, by invoking an EU mechanism known as modulation.
But Mr Gill told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Modulation is a system that was introduced into Britain last year. "It does not work, robs Peter to pay Paul, costs a lot to do and in the end the industry loses money and the environment doesn't gain." The chief executive of the Environment Agency, Baroness Barbara Young, said: "I would encourage farmers to really look at this report closely and recognise that to some extent we've seen signs over the past couple of years of British agriculture drinking in the last chance saloon." She added that the report presented a "real opportunity" for agriculture before suggesting that consumers were already paying more than they realised towards food production because of the Cap. |