Minister will listen to farmers

LORD BACH, the new minister for sustainable food and farming at DEFRA, has said he will listen to farmers’ complaints about how they are served by government.

 

Speaking at the Soil Association’s horticulture symposium at Ryton Organic Gardens on Tuesday (June 7), Lord Bach said he was aware that many farmers feel that government is not properly joined up as far as farming is concerned.

 

“If there is one thing I will try to do in this job, it is to listen to farmers,” Lord Bach said.

 

“We certainly won’t be able to satisfy everyone at all times, as farmers also speak with several voices, but I’ll do my best to help sort things out,” he added.

 

He also said he wanted to hear as many examples as possible of instances where farmers are given conflicting signals from different government bodies.

 

Lord Bach insisted, however, that organic farmers have generally been treated well by the Labour government.

I don’t think you can deny that the organic movement overall has benefited from the work of this government,” Lord Bach said.