SECOND REPORT
The Agriculture Committee has agreed to the following
Report:-
ORGANIC FARMING
FOREWORD
1. The demand-led expansion in organic production
in the UK has brought great benefits in revitalising this sector
at a time of great trouble in the rest of the agricultural industry.
This is to be welcomed and we applaud the efforts of the organic
movement in responding to this demand so swiftly. Inevitably,
however, the sudden increase has led to problems in oversubscription
of organic services, from Government grants to certification of
farms and imported products. There is an argument over whether
the Government should invest now to meet more of the current level
of demand from domestic supplies or whether in the longer term
this would do more harm than good by creating a sudden glut on
the organic market, an agricultural equivalent of a boom and bust
economic cycle. Indeed, there is a real question as to the extent
to which the Government should be providing support at all when
the market is so obviously strong. We believe that there is a
strong case for caution. There are also fears that the growth
in organic demand is leading to a loss of control by the industry
over its traditional values and principles, as larger and more
commercially-oriented farmers and the supermarkets become ever
more dominant in the market. These difficulties can be resolved
by the industry acknowledging the fears and by working towards
better supplier relationships and stronger producer-controlled
co-operatives.
2. There is clearly a strong consumer demand for
organic products but we are very conscious that the consumer may
attribute benefits to organic products which cannot be sustained
in the present state of scientific knowledge and which cannot
legally be claimed by producers. We have reservations about the
claims made for organics and we believe that far more work needs
to be done to establish a scientific basis for these claims. This
would then sustain a rationale for the standards applied and,
together with research into technical issues, could lead to great
advances by organic farmers. It is vital that consumers get what
they believe they are paying for, which is why we attach such
importance to clear standards. It is also vital that the taxpayer
gets what he or she is paying for, which is why we support an
organic stewardship scheme under which Government grants would
reward proven environmental benefits.
3. We end by stressing the need to see organic
and conventional agriculture as interdependent. We wish to see
the best techniques of both systems used to ensure the greatest
benefits for farmers, consumers and the wider community. It is
unlikely that organic farming can ever provide the amount of food
needed for the whole country so conventional agriculture will
continue to play a major part, making it all the more important
that the systems work in tandem and learn from one another. Organic
farming has much to offer in this partnership and we hope that
it will continue to develop and expand in the UK. Organic farming
is now a mature sector. Some of its apostles still proselytise
with an almost religious fervour and, occasionally, a sectarian
spirit. This helps nobody. The past perhaps belonged to messianics;
the future belongs to marketing.
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