Arable
HORTICULTURE MUST BE NURTURED POST-BREXIT
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HORTICULTURE MUST BE treated as a prime asset and nurtured carefully as Britain leaves the EU , a high profile conference heard recently .
Anthea McIntyre , Conservative MEP for the West Midlands , told the Growquip conference in Stratford upon Avon that farmers and growers were the major stewards of our environment and needed continued access to innovation , new technology and research .
She said : “ They need this to produce food in a sustainable way so that we can both feed the world and protect the environment for future generations .
“ Horticulture is a key economic asset , and key to meeting the challenges presented by climate change and population growth . In a post-Brexit world , Regulators and policy makers in the UK must - now more than ever - stand with the grower and the consumer in allowing this world-beating sector to thrive and grow .”
Miss McIntyre , a member of the European Parliament ’ s Agriculture Committee and Conservative employment spokesman , has produced two influential parliamentary reports - The Future of Europe ’ s Horticulture Sector - Strategies for Growth and Technological Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture .
Her speech touched on regulation , research and development , plant protection , pests and diseases and Brexit .
She said : “ As we leave the EU , it is essential that the UK government , academia , industry , breeders , the agrochemicals sector , growers and food manufacturers all work together to improve the translation of research into practice .”
Miss McIntyre suggested that recent ministerial statements pointed to three reasonable assumptions about a future British Agricultural Bill :
• First , it will pay close attention to science based evidence and , if the science agrees , UK law will closely follow what the EU is doing .
• Secondly , it will offer the devolved administrations more control than they currently have .
• Third , it will look again at risk versus hazardbased regulation so that agricultural legislation may be simplified .
She warmly welcomed the Government ’ s announcement of a £ 40 million grant scheme to boost countryside productivity through investment in cuttingedge technology and new equipment .
Under the scheme , she said , grants would be available to help farmers , including horticultural growers , to improve productivity through new technology to reduce cost or improve product quality . The funding could be used on diverse investments , from robotics to green technology .
She said : “ This is a great opportunity for our growers and food processors to invest in the technology they need to boost productivity , competitiveness and , of course , sustainability .
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www . farmers-mart . co . uk Oct / Nov 2017 33