Let farmers produce food!
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Posted, April 23, 2008 @ 00:00
Let farmers produce food!
Food security concerns can be addressed by allowing farmers to produce food free from market and government interference
Strasbourg, 23rd April 2008 ---- As the European Parliament debated the issue of food security amid growing global concern at the rise in food prices, Neil Parish, Conservative MEP and Chairman of the Agriculture Committee today warned that farmers must finally be allowed to respond to the market.
Three years ago wheat a tonne of wheat was worth 90 Euros, today it is worth close to 270 Euros per tonne. This rapid price rise is causing concern around the world with Argentina slapping huge export taxes on its agricultural production and politicians in Europe, including both the French and German Agricultural Ministers, calling for a return to direct subsidies for food production.
Mr Parish said:
"We have sleepwalked into this, our farmers have been champing at the bit to produce food for the last twenty years, but they have been stifled by the bureaucracy of the Common Agricultural policy.
"We need to free our farmers from government interference, and allow them to do what they do best, producing food. The market price now provides a huge incentive for farmers and if we reduce bureaucracy and red tape, farmers will meet the challenge of producing more food and they would be absolutely delighted to do so. They have been waiting to do it for 20 years!
"Globally there is a huge potential to produce more food, just look at Zimbabwe, which ten years ago was producing food for itself and half of Southern Africa, yet now it can't feed itself, this is not down to drought, or climate change, or biofuels, this is down to the country being run by a mad dictator. Without good governance in the wider world, we will never fully realise our agricultural potential."