Co-operation is vital to farmers survival
Co-operation is vital to farmers survival
FARMERS have to be a lot more businesslike if they want to survive in the industry, and co-operation has a leading role to play, says the Welsh chairman of the Country Land and Business Association.
David Harden told a CLA conference at Oswestry in Shropshire that those who occupied land had no right to expect to make an automatic living from it. They had proven their resilience during recent crises, but it was time to face political reality and look honestly at their businesses to assess whether survival was possible.
"The government wants an industry that can stand on its own feet in world terms with reduced public subsidy," warned Mr Harden. "There is no reason why those who occupy land should expect to making a living from farming alone just because their fathers did."
Many would have to change and show new initiative and entrepreneurship. The fact that the Welsh Assemblys new scheme offering free consultant advice was heavily oversubscribed showed farmers were aware of the reality. They welcomed the chance to open their books to independent advisers who were not "snooping" on behalf of the government or Brussels.
He hoped that economic necessity would persuade producers to give up some of their traditional independence to form co-operatives. These might take the form of joint ventures in which farmers pooled assets and shared their individual skills. Others might prefer to create strong marketing groups, or to collaborate and invest in value-adding processing of primary products.
"Government action is needed to boost farm co-operation. An assurance must be given that never again will the Competition Commission obstruct a development as it did with Milk Marque. Farmer co-operation is an essential strategy for earning a better share of commercial margins within the international food market."
Mr Harden added that landowners should welcome the chance to turn people who wanted to make use of their land into customers, whether they were conservationists, walkers or horse-riders.
Controlled access could boost incomes, given sensible planning regulations and open minds about land use, he said. *
The government should help establish co-ops, rather than obstruct their progress, says David Harden.