AND THEN THE SHELVES WERE EMPTY!

For most of us (on these islands) the significance of Wednesday August 14th probably passed largely unnoticed – this was the day that food supplies (for the year) would have run out today if the UK was reliant solely on domestic production. The National Farmers’ Union have suggested (and they should know) that falling self-sufficiency means that we produce less than two-thirds (62%) of the food the country consumes, this figure is down from 75% in 1991.

And then the cupboard was bare...

What this means is that if all the food produced in the UK in a year were stored and eaten from January 1st then our cupboard would be bare by August 14th. Farmers in Wales (and England) are right to call for support from politicians, the public and food industry to back farming and help them produce more food. We currently import around £ 37.6 billion pounds worth of food and drink often at the expense of home grown foodstuffs.

In times of political and economic uncertainty it is essential that we have a vibrant domestic food-producing industry. With world food prices remaining high and the demand for food supplies from India, China and Brazil continuing to grow it’s not sustainable or sensible to carry on relaying in imported foodstuffs. The transportation system we rely on to deliver our food supplies is over complex, increasingly last minute and reliant on vulnerable long distance distribution systems, which are dependent on increasingly expensive oil based fuels. 

The problems of the recent past have been the result of long, overly complex supply chains, something which farmers warned about and which led to the horsemeat scandal. Here in Wales we have a rich natural capacity to produce more quality foodstuffs, which with investment and local purchasing could give both our farmers and their customers real opportunities.

We need to an environment where farmers can benefit from invest and new opportunities to sell their produce, at the same time we can strengthen the food chain bringing much needed food security. Our farmers already regularly produce award winning quality foodstuffs, the next step should to develop our domestic markets for their produce, with more local public procurement.

Buying local is the next significant step, this will reduce food miles and give consumers access to quality Welsh beef or lamb and other produce. Our farming sector needs to be strong and confident, something that will give us both food security and access to quality local produce.  If we do this right then we can ensure that more of money remains in local economies longer, benefiting local firms and local food suppliers and the rest of us. 

IT'S ALL GONE QUIET OVER THERE?

During the last Westminster campaign - prior to polling day - especially in a rural constituency, every candidate who was out chasing votes tried to appear to be the farmer's best mate. The same was probably true across rural constituencies the length and breadth of Wales and the rest of the UK - yet, our farming communities, despite this welcome warmth have been pretty isolated and marginalized by the politicians, the contempt with which the farmers used to be treated by the old New Labour Government (and previous Conservative governments) in Westminster - this was something that was mirrored until relatively recently in Cardiff Bay certainly until the arrival of Plaid in government and Elin Jones, the Plaid driven One Wales Government Rural Affairs Minister.

Now that the dust has settled and the deals have been done, we have a Conservative / Liberal Government and the question should be what are they going to do for the farming sector? The Conservatives have spent years appearing (with less and less effort on their part admittedly) to be the party of the farmers, certainly some farmers continue to believe it. Yet, it is worth remembering that not that long ago in the 1980's it was a Tory Secretary of State who literally sat by and quietly did nothing when many of our Dairy farmers got hammered into the ground by cuts in the milk quota.

Never again must any Welsh Minister fail to stand up and be counted and to fail to argue their corner on behalf of Welsh farmers - now at least that has changed for the better - with Elin Jones (AM), the Plaid One Wales Government Minister for Rural Affairs we have a minster who is not afraid to actually meet with and to stand up for our farmers and their interests - this is a refreshing change from what has gone before. During the NFU farmers hustings in the final weeks of the election campaign, when I mentioned the things that Elin Jones and the One Wales Government have (and are) doing to make things easier for our farmers, the comments, the nods and the smiles confirmed that the farmers are more than aware of what's being done on their behalf.

Any catastrophic economic failure across the farming sector will have a significant knock on effects for dependent small businesses and local suppliers across the whole rural economy, in the small towns and across the Welsh countryside itself. The Plaid driven one Wales Government has unlike relatively recent governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay, stopped treating the agricultural sector with indifference. Most people agree that much more effort has to be made to market first class Welsh produce within Wales, within the UK and in Europe and beyond.

Now, our farmers, despite some mutterings to the contrary by some local Labour MPs who should know better, are not just in the businesses of merely waiting for that one annual brown envelope and cheque from Brussels but for a real opportunity to make a decent living within the agricultural sector - to do this they need a fair deal. We need to take practical steps to give Welsh farmers a fighting chance of making a real living; securing 80% of publicly procured food locally by 2015 is a realistic and practical aim.

This is something that could provide the first practical step towards helping Welsh farmers and other producers make the most of the new opportunities that will arise from higher public purchasing of local products. Yet we need more, a much more co-ordinated effort to create that elusive level playing field for our farmers and a real effort from National and Local government to secure 80% of publicly procured food locally by 2015 – this could provide the first practical step towards helping Welsh farmers and other producers make the most of the new opportunities that will arise from higher public purchasing of local products.

The question remains, as yet, unanswered though, what is the new Conservative / Liberal Government actually going to do for our farmers?