Many thanks to all of you that contributed to last week's debate about balancing agricultural production with conservation.  Whether you posted a comment, dropped me an email or simply read it - thank you!  Particular thanks to our guest contributors - Matthew Naylor, Allan Buckwell, Caroline Drummond and Johann Tasker.

I think that we reached a good deal of consensus about ambition and intent.  As Caroline concluded "the future is not doing more of the same, it is about increasing sustainability at all levels". But perhaps we did not do enought to identify solutions.  Allan was right when he said "until and unless there is public acceptance of the scale and seriousness of the market failures in land management which mean that farmers are properly remunerated for producing the non-food ecosystem services which only they can provide, then we will continue to wring our hands about the deterioration of environmental capital."  Yet, this is not to blame farmers.  It is for the policy makers to provide the right signals to which the farming community will respond.

I shall reflect further on the debate with the RSPB team.  This is a crucial year with CAP reform on the horizon and Defra itself is looking at this issue.  Defra has established a Green Food Project and is obliged to report its findings in June 2012.  The group is chaired by the Farming Minister, Jim Paice, and I am one of the participants alongside representatives from organisations such as NFU, CLA and WWF.  Through sector, product and site case studies it will explore options for reconciling the twin objectives of increasing production and enhancing the natural environment.  I shall return to this subject in due course.

Parents
  • Hi Martin, I fully agree that it is more than high time the Prime Minister gave his up to date views on the environment in the light of current statments and decisions from Ministers, these are long over due and his silence on this subject is "deafening". He needs to salvage something from his statement about being the "Greenist Government Ever." It is execellent that you are a member of the Green Food Project, well done and good luck. The overwhelming consensus seems to be that the drive for improved farming to achieve better, production, sustainability and biodiversity must come from the top i.e. the politicians and policy makers. I am sure this is right. However I also agree that the RSPB should be prepared to cause political pain and aggravation when policies are not right. If the RSPB  does not upset some organisation/ person from time to time then it is probably not doing its job as well as it could. The political skill comes in not overdoing it and keeping a balance. That's not so easy.

Comment
  • Hi Martin, I fully agree that it is more than high time the Prime Minister gave his up to date views on the environment in the light of current statments and decisions from Ministers, these are long over due and his silence on this subject is "deafening". He needs to salvage something from his statement about being the "Greenist Government Ever." It is execellent that you are a member of the Green Food Project, well done and good luck. The overwhelming consensus seems to be that the drive for improved farming to achieve better, production, sustainability and biodiversity must come from the top i.e. the politicians and policy makers. I am sure this is right. However I also agree that the RSPB should be prepared to cause political pain and aggravation when policies are not right. If the RSPB  does not upset some organisation/ person from time to time then it is probably not doing its job as well as it could. The political skill comes in not overdoing it and keeping a balance. That's not so easy.

Children
No Data