More Farmers, Better Food – A framework for British Agricultural Policy
Press Release
August 1, 2016
The Landworkers’ Alliance today announces eight key recommendations that will form the foundation of our post-Brexit representations to Defra and the Government’s Environmental Audit Committee.
The task of creating a post-Brexit ‘British Agricultural Policy’ that support producers, protects the environment and prioritizes access to healthy, nutritious food for all is a complex but essential one. It represents a great opportunity if the government is ready to listen to the needs and desires of all stakeholders and put in place a truly long-term plan for resilience, equality and justice in food and farming.
Our policy recommendations can be viewed in detail here and are summarized below:
- Focus on National Food Security
- Direct public money to high quality food and good farming
- End the discrimination against small farms
- Create and maintain agricultural employment
- Improve environmental and welfare standards
- Invest in farmer-led research for resilient solutions
- Build markets that work for farmers
- Democratize agricultural policy making
Over the next 6 months the LWA will carry out an in-depth consultation among our members to draw up comprehensive policy proposals that addresses the needs of food producers in the UK. We will also work with other organizations to draw up a framework for a ‘Peoples’ Food Policy’ that can address the systemic inequalities and misguided policies currently afflicting the food and farming sectors.
Adam Payne, a spokesperson for the LWA said: ‘The UK’s small-scale, ecological and family farms are an amazing resource that nourish a huge amount of our rural culture, and offer us a pathway towards a more resilient and just food system. However, in the past, the UK’s farming strategies have undermined domestic production of healthy, affordable food and left many small farms unfairly disadvantaged in the market place. We are looking forward to dialogue with the government to ensure that post-brexit agricultural policy is more equitable, more resilient and more just.’
A more detailed document outlining the LWA’s 8 point plan can be found here:
The LWA is an official member of the international peasant farming movement La Via Campesina which represents 200 million small-scale producers around the world. We campaign for the rights of small-scale producers and lobby the UK government and European parliament for policies that support the infrastructure and markets central to our livelihoods.
Press Contact: Ed Hamer: 07858 381539/ Adam Payne: 07817 320504
e: landworkersalliance@gmail.com
The Landworkers’ Alliance is a union of small-scale producers and family farmers who produce food, fuel and fiber. We are a member of the international peasant farming movement La Via Campesina that represents 200 million farmers around the world. We campaign for the rights of small-scale producers and lobby the UK government and European Parliament for policies that support the infrastructure and markets central to our livelihoods.