EUC Report: Agriculture

Lord Plumb Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Plumb]

My Lords, first I share the joy and pleasure on this occasion in having the noble Lord, Lord Curry, with us. He is an old friend of mine; we worked together and shared many platforms over many years. We have not always agreed, but we have been mighty near agreeing most times. It is great to see him here and I know, as do all who know him well, that he will make a great contribution to this House, not just on agriculture but on many other issues as well. We are delighted to have him here on this day.

I declare my interest as a farmer, one who has witnessed working in the dirt and the cold many years ago, and I have seen all the changes in policy, structure, technology, science and production methods since the 1947 Act and under the CAP since 1973. I was often told that it was my fault that we had all those surpluses of food not so many years ago; no one can claim the credit for bringing that into some sort of balance, so that we now talk about not surpluses but security. That is a big change—not just a change in attitude, but a change in the general situation.

I did not have the privilege of sharing in the preparation of this report, but I congratulate the chairman, the members of the committee, the clerks and their adviser on producing what I believe is an excellent document—a wide, proactive report on the importance of science, technology and innovation in the practice of farming and horticultural systems. The team of witnesses, as one reads the document, is very impressive. The contribution they made and the way they have been reported has been absolutely first class, and it makes this one of the best documents I have read on agricultural development for some considerable time.

As has been said already in this debate, the European Union has to be competitive in the global marketplace, not forgetting its social and environmental responsibilities. It cannot be assumed that innovation will happen incidentally, due to the nature of farming, different sizes of farms and different techniques and methods. When one assumes that they are all in one lot, I always say that the only sensible definition of a “small farmer” is a chap about five feet tall.

Farming as we know it is often risk averse and isolated, facing difficulties in investment and producing unbranded commodities. I often regard fellow farmers as frustrated research workers, instinctive experimenters and innovators who are prepared to use new products and practices to be more efficient and productive, following of course—as they do—scientific approval.

One impressive side of farming that is not just related to this country is our agricultural colleges and universities. They are providing excellent training and skills for a new generation of farmers, many of whom are keen to become leaders in the industry, with conviction and passion. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to visit those colleges, to talk to young people—and to wish that I was 40 years younger. Both the noble Lord, Lord Curry, and my noble friend Lady Byford have said it was important that we do not just relate this to product. It is investment in people, particularly young people—Care was mentioned as an organisation that is doing a great job in that respect.

My son has near his farm 44 schools, which have adopted, if not him, the farm. They visit it on a regular basis, which I know gives him a lot of pleasure. He has two people carriers, which take the children around the farm while he talks to them. The same schools come back time and again. He even gets them planting potatoes, other vegetables and all sorts of things. They put their names on the plants so that they can come back and see the growth of the product, which they are keen to do.

We see those changes. Today we talk about the use of precision farming with satellite-guided machinery, yield mapping, conservation tillage, which is increasing, on-farm bioenergy equipment, heat and power units, anaerobic digestives—all the sort of things that were unheard of a few years ago but are now becoming commonplace on many farms. In future we will see new crop varieties developed through the process of further improved management and possible use of genetic modification and so on.

We know that, to be innovative, farming must be profitable so that it can invest in the future. Farmers have to be confident that they can remain in business. As I read this document—and I have read it more than once—one thing struck me in particular. It is worth quoting from box 2, above paragraph 40, which cites three theories of innovation as applied to agriculture. I thought that they said it all and they are:

“Innovation as a top-down dissemination of new technologies … Innovation as a bottom-up process”,

in which,

“local context and farm-level networks shape innovation outcomes”,

and, thirdly,

“Innovation as a socio-technical process”,

in which farm businesses mix with all the other bodies and organisations that are involved in the business. That is the big change as I have seen it over recent years. It is a welcome development because different producers can better see the part that each of them plays in the production of food.

Therefore, I hope that in replying to this debate the Minister will agree that there is cautious optimism for the future. It will depend a lot on the simplification of policy under the CAP. We want less red tape and fewer regulations. Above all, in the reform of the CAP— I agree entirely that it must be radically changed this time, rather than tinkered with, as it has been over the years—it is imperative to keep a sensible balance between the support of Pillars 1 and 2, which allow famers a margin to compete in the global marketplace.