Landworkers’ Alliance joins the Farming to London march
Press Release: March 17, 2016
The Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA) is announcing official support for the ‘Farming to London’ march taking place on Wednesday 23rd March 2016. LWA members will be travelling to London from across the UK to take part in the demonstration and to show solidarity with the UK’s wider farming community whose livelihoods have been undermined by policies of the Conservative government.
“We commend Farmers for Action (FFA) for calling this demonstration to highlight the inequality of the UK’s agriculture industry” says LWA spokesperson Ed Hamer. “The Conservative government’s drive for ‘sustainable intensification’ has focused public support on intensive technologies and markets, leading to commodification and price volatility and directly undermining the livelihoods of thousands of small, traditional and family farms across the country”.
“We would instead like to see progressive agricultural policy combined with market regulations that allow farmers to maintain traditional farming skills and knowledge whilst also being able to earn a livelihood from their land. We should not be faced with the single choice of ‘getting big or getting out’. We stand in solidarity with the majority of the UK’s farmers in recognizing the social and environmental assets provided by a thriving rural economy”.
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
Notes: The Farming to London March is organized by Farmers for Action: http://farmersforaction.org/farming-to-london-march/index