VIDEO: We must make farming more resilient – Paterson

DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson says the government is considering a contingency fund to help make farming more resilient in the event of extreme weather and animal disease outbreaks.

Mr Paterson made the comments in an exclusive interview with Farmers Weekly at the North Devon Show on Wednesday (8 July).

The government had held positive meetings about improving the resilience of agriculture with industry leaders, farming charities and banks, he said.

“What we’re looking at first is to see if there is some sort of possibility of a contingency fund,” Mr Paterson told Farmers Weekly.

Farming was never going to be free from extreme weather or animal disease and contingency funds used in other parts of the world were well worth looking at, he said.

The resilience of farming could also be improved using the government’s agri-tech strategy – and by encouraging more young people into the industry, Mr Paterson added.





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