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Speaking first, and unveiling plans to introduce new frameworks and bodies with the eventual aim of floating farming away from government support, Jim Paice argued that the key to ensuring the UK remains productive and respected in terms of agricultural production is to ensure farming becomes a competitive industry, independent of government subsidies. 

Paice celebrated agricultural achievements of the past century, stating that, over the Twentieth Century, increases in technology have seen the global farming industry, using around the same amount of inputs, effectively feeding three billion people in the 1950s, 7 billion today and remaining on track to feeding 9 billion by the middle of this century. He also pointed out that 60 per cent of food consumed in the UK today is produced here, compared to 50 per cent in the 1950s.

He said farmers need innovation to drive change if they want to produce more food, distribute it more efficiently, whilst using less water and respecting biodiversity in the process. He admitted that "We can't sit back and believe the market will provide an income," though he expressed the belief that the UK should "Set out on a journey to wean the industry away from direct support" and increase research funding, achieved through CAP reform.

AHDB to become farming industry body

Paice said that work conducted on a local basis would best addressing future challenges in farming and said the AHDB is ideally placed to become a "professional body" which delivers technical and business expertise and represents farmers, enabling the government to float farming away from government support and make it a pure market force.

To this end, the farming minister announced the creation of a network of 14 regional Rural and Farming Networks to ensure local regions have a say in new policy developments and has tasked John Godfrey, chair of the AHDB, with investigating what the board’s role could be in the future of British Farming.

However, although Jim Paice did acknowledge that moves in the industry towards a purely market-driven position would not be taken "even in the next seven years," his opponent pointed out that, as secure food production ensures the population of country is well-fed, the government should play a role in keeping food affordable and ensuring producers continue producing in a stable manner. Mary Creagh suggested that, within the wider context of commodity speculation and rising food prices, the wisdom of such calls at the current time could be construed as unwise.

Opposition’s four key areas to promote farming

The Shadow Environment Secretary questioned the government's commitments to agriculture and its vision of farming's future. Ms Creagh pointed out that, despite the government's rhetoric on buying British, Defra still only sources a third of its food from Britain. She identified four key areas on which the UK should focus in order to better define agriculture's place in the future.

These areas are:

• The role of farming in creating new green jobs, needed for economic recover

• Meeting environmental challenges of producing more food sustainably

• Addressing domestic food policy and ensuring no one goes hungry in 21^st Century Britain

• Combating the threat posed by commodity speculation and preventing system failure in the global food supply chain

The Shadow minister renewed calls for the creation of a supermarket adjudicator, a sore subject for the current government, which has come under fire for watering down plans for an ombudsperson. She also criticised Defra’s decision to dissolve the agricultural wages board, saying this would increase rural exclusion and result in more money draining out of the rural economy.

Ms Creagh went on to say, "We cannot have food security without sustainability. It's not either produce more or produce sustainably. It's both. The best farmers realise that the only long-term business strategy is one which puts sustainability at its heart."

She commended the industry for reducing carbon emissions and waste and for increasing water efficiency, but said more needs to be done.

Mr Paice stated that, as food processing is the biggest manufacturing sector in the UK, creating £76 billion annually, focusing on using British ingredients in food produced here and boosting exports, which grew last year. Paice said the Agri-food and drink action plan, developed last year, will ensure Britain continues to enjoy a strong export market. However, although she expressed similar desires for the food sector, Creagh criticised the lack of support that has hitherto been given to food production and processing; she said that support had instead gone to "sexier" industries including automotive transport and arms companies. 

GM still a hot topic

Paice said that "GM is not a panacea" although he expressed support for it.  Ms Creagh said "biotech is not the sole cause of increases in productivity." She stated that the EU has decided at an international level that consumers do not want GM and that she supported this. She also pointed out that most biotech crops are plants which cannot easily be grown in the EU, particularly Britain, such as soya and maize.

Both Jim Paice and Mary Creagh agreed upon the need for more research and development to ensure innovative solutions are available to help farmers in the field. Both called for food production and processing to take a place in the advanced engineering sector to ensure the UK "continues to punch above its weight in global food section."

Creagh said that one of the best ways to secure a future for UK farmers would be to play to the country's strengths, identifying the strong demand for British genetics, which have long benefitted from international renown.

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