NFU President Peter Kendall claims there has been a "deliberate misunderstanding" of his comments about improving agricultural productivity and the natural environment. It comes after he was criticised by the RSPB over the issue following a speech last week. But Mr Kendall has told the Centre for Excellence in UK farming (UKCEF) conference at Kenilworth that improving production should not be at the expense of the environment. "The challenge is more complex and difficult than just lifting agricultural productivity," said Mr Kendall. "We have to do it at the same time as reducing our environmental footprint, and from diminishing, and therefore increasingly costly, natural resources.
New research by the Scottish Agricultural College Rural Policy Centre has revealed that, although Scotland's agricultural productivity still compares well against other UK nations, productivity is not rising as fast as it was. The report's authors describe this decline as "worrying" because of its potential impact on the industry's position in export markets and the risk of losses of market share to imports.
I am grateful to the RSPB for misinterpreting Peter Kendall's assertion that, to paraphrase, "bio-diversity isn't in crisis, agricultural productivity is", as an attack on conservation, because it gives me the opportunity to discuss some of the wider issues at stake. The first thing to be said is that the statement is factually correct. Bio-diversity is not in crisis. With some sad exceptions, like the hedgehog and red squirrel, populations of most wild mammals have been increasing, while thousands of acres of wildlife habitat have been created under the various agrienvironment schemes. To be sure, the numbers of five species of farmland birds - supposedly farmland "specialists" (despite the fact that they include the starling, which you will find almost anywhere) have declined sharply ...
It was a happy coincidence that the Food and Farming Futures report, calling for a massive increase in agricultural productivity, and the latest farm income figures should have been published within a few days of each other, because the one explains why we need not be too worried about the other. The 400 international experts led by the Government's Chief Scientist, Professor John Beddington, were looking forward 20 years in making their assessment that only "sustainably intensive" systems of farming can provide the 40 per cent increase in food production that will be needed by an increasingly populous world. But this is not an example of a hypothetical threat at some remote point in the future. Worldwide demand for food is already outstripping the supply, and the consequences are alrea...
I am grateful to the RSPB for misinterpreting Peter Kendall's assertion that, to paraphrase, "bio-diversity isn't in crisis, agricultural productivity is", as an attack on conservation, because it gives me the opportunity to discuss some of the wider issues at stake. The first thing to be said is that the statement is factually correct. Bio-diversity is not in crisis. With some sad exceptions, like the hedgehog and red squirrel, populations of most wild mammals have been increasing, while thousands of acres of wildlife habitat have been created under the various agrienvironment schemes. To be sure, the numbers of five species of farmland birds - supposedly farmland "specialists" (despite the fact that they include the starling, which you will find almost anywhere) have declined sharply ...
MOST of us imagine farming as being very different from other industries. We see farms as pastures green and fields of corn, while we identify manufacturing with clanking production lines and belching chimneys. The truth is that modern, intensive farming has long since become highly industrialised. Traditional agriculture has given way to new methods that require huge inputs of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides; and that consume large quantities of fossil fuel. The upside has been a massive increase in agricultural productivity and food production. But the downside is that this new industrial agriculture is a major contributor to global warming. In effect, we cannot tackle climate change without revisiting modern ways of feeding ourselves.
It was a happy coincidence that the Food and Farming Futures report, calling for a massive increase in agricultural productivity, and the latest farm income figures should have been published within a few days of each other, because the one explains why we need not be too worried about the other. The 400 international experts led by the Government's Chief Scientist, Professor John Beddington, were looking forward 20 years in making their assessment that only "sustainably intensive" systems of farming can provide the 40 per cent increase in food production that will be needed by an increasingly populous world. But this is not an example of a hypothetical threat at some remote point in the future. Worldwide demand for food is already outstripping the supply, and the consequences are alrea...
WALES is set to benefit from a new pounds 180,000 biochar facility which may transform the way the country tackles climate change. Aberystwyth University is installing a biomass waste recycling unit designed to produce biochar - a charcoal-like substance - that can be used to improve soil fertility and raise agricultural productivity.
This research is conducted with a view to study the credit facilities of the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (now called Zarai Tarkiati Bank Ltd.) and their impact on farm productivity of different types of growers in Sindh province. This research study is conducted through primary and secondary data. Following the survey method of study, 500 growers viz small, medium and large are selected randomly from district Khairpur, who had applied for loan to ADBP but only 220 growers got loan facilities They were interviewed keeping in view the objectives of hypotheses. Out of 500 growers, 220 got loan facilities amounting of Rs. 1,42,07,000. The small farmers received 20.62%, medium 09.70% and large 69.68% of total disbursed loan by the ADBP. The pattern of institutional credit seems...
The world "cannot afford to fail" to deal with the international food crisis, Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned yesterday as heads of state meet for a UN summit to address soaring prices. Mr Brown said it was "vital" that the three-day summit agreed measures to increase food production and agricultural productivity in the world's poorest countries.
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