NEWS
DYNAMIC FUTURE
Farming in the South East has nailed its colours firmly to the mast with the publication of Fertile Ground – an Agenda for Growth in the Regional Agri-Food Sector, an ambitious and hard-hitting manifesto for growth. A painstakingly researched and well-argued document, Fertile Ground has been produced by NFU South East and sets out a dynamic future for the region’s farming and food sectors – and the support it needs to deliver that future. Its three themes, all linked to sustainability, are agri-food productivity and jobs, a great place to live, work, eat and drink, and clean growth in a net zero
economy. While devoting a considerable amount of space to showcasing the strength of the farming and food sector in the South East – including the potential for the wine sector alone to create 21,000 extra jobs over the next 20 years – it also highlights the backing it needs from government, local authorities and others to realise future growth. NFU South East regional board chair and West Sussex farmer David Exwood said the document was aimed not at the industry but at those who were in a position to support the sector in its aim to help create a stronger economy.
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“We want decision makers and stakeholders across the region to sit up and take notice of the incredible contribution that farming already makes to the South East and to support our efforts to do even more,” he said. “We have some great businesses here in the South East and a huge opportunity to grow further. This is a proactive attempt to get that message out there, to show exactly what modern farming is capable of and to inspire councils, local enterprise partnerships, further education establishments and businesses to work with us to build an even stronger economy.” He went on: “This is the first document of its kind and it reflects a new era for farming. A lot of people don’t understand quite how dynamic modern farming is or how much potential it has. This document makes that clear and will be used extensively to persuade stakeholders to work with us to the benefit of the economy as a whole. “Above all we need people to know that the South East can’t just become one big national park that we use as an offsetting area. We are doing a huge amount to improve the environment, but we have to keep putting food on the table. We can’t export our conscience and import all our food.” The document points out that agriculture and forestry in the South East directly employ more than 50,000 people, generating annual sales topping £2 billion and contributing a regional gross value added (GVA) of £1.25 billion. It goes on to stress the need for government and stakeholder support for jobs and growth in agriculture, which it points out will boost the regional economy as a whole. It calls for action to boost farm productivity, ensuring farmers and growers have the skills and support systems they need to strengthen their position in the supply chain, and for measures to encourage greater public support for regional food and drink. It also highlights the need for stakeholders to work with the industry to help the nation shift to a carbon neutral economy. Fertile Ground also tackles the issue of the ‘vital infrastructure’ that the farming and food sectors will increasingly rely on if they are to achieve the growth of which they are capable, focusing on water resources, abattoirs, dairy processing facilities, arable crop processing, vineyards and wineries and woodland and forestry infrastructure. On water resources it calls for farmers and growers “[to] be involved in the decision-making processes at catchment level in order to plan and articulate their resource requirements over a
