26/04/07
The Cost of the Union, Agriculture
“Jack McConnell, First Minister of the Labour and Liberal Democrat Scottish government, has posed the question in the Scottish Parliament elections what would be the cost to Scotland of Independence, it would be more to the point asking what is the cost to Scotland of staying in the Union,“ said Jim Fairlie, Free Scotland Party candidate in Perth and number one on their Mid Scotland and Fife regional list.
He continued, “335,000 workers or 14% of the Scottish workforce are employed in agriculture and food production, with a total turnover of £7.57 billion in the Scottish Food and Drink manufacturing industry. But Scottish farming provides only 37% of that market. That share needs to be increased.”
“Food security will become an increasingly important issue along with the carbon footprint of food imported from the other side of the world. In Scotland, acres of Scottish farm land lie fallow for years as set aside. The EU is deliberately paying farmers not grow food in a hungry world, where is the morality in that. No country can afford to allow its agricultural land to lie doing nothing. Scotland should not depend on farming producing food elsewhere.”
“There is a potential problem with imported food which on occasion may have been produced in unregulated circumstances. The Scottish food market should not be home to questionable material produced in questionable ways when we could be producing food at home.”
“Should Scotland watch its agricultural industry being destroyed by unfair competition? Or, should we be looking at devising a system whereby farm subsidies are stopped and farmers are forced to compete with each other, for markets, which are guaranteed to take local produce. For example, free school milk and free school lunches using local produce, would answer critics of the present fare being dished up to school children and at the same time, force farmers to operate on a more business like basis. Add to that, the meat and produce served to the forces and there is a substantial market available, for those prepared to go out to capture it.”
“Grants should be made available to encourage young, new entrants into farming, to promote farm diversification, to promote the use of Scottish produce. Food retailers should be encouraged to use local producers. We should run Scottish farming for the benefit of Scotland not to the diktat of the EU.”
“The burden of regulation on health and quality control is in danger of killing the Farmers Market movement after the original was started in Perth before it has a chance to make a real impact. Over regulation is making it very expensive for slaughter houses to operate and at the same time, allow farmers to compete with the prices being charged by supermarkets, which are free to sell imported meat, not subject to the same regulations.”
“The public has shown it is prepared to pay more for food, providing it can be sure of getting quality. Farmers Markets have found a ready market with more and more consumers wanting to know that meat is traceable to the farm it was produced on and that the produce is fresh."
"When the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) took over, it destroyed an effective method of subsidy in Scotland. Previously, the farmers representatives and the government met and agreed a level of payment. The target was for the country to feed itself. If the harvest was in surplus then farmers got their agreed price and because there was a surplus consumer costs were kept down too. In the event of a shortage, supplies were bought in from foreign markets."
"CAP changed all that. CAP was geared to subsidies for production which lead to the iniquitous food mountains. To cut production, set aside was brought in with farmers being paid not to produce food. Farmers are paid to keep land in a condition that it could be returned to agriculture.
"CAP consumes 50% of the EU annual budget. It is wide open to corruption, the Greeks famously claimed subsidies for olive production for an area larger than the land mass of Greece. It is calculated that the consumer pays £16-£20 extra in an average weekly shopping basket because of EU CAP corruption. If we left the EU tomorrow, we could pay pensioners a £16-£20 a week increase instead of paying it to thieves."
"Norway has voted against membership in two referendums on the EU. A significant part of the popular support in Norway against membership of the EU has come from the small farmer communities. Governments there have encouraged farmers to farm in often hostile conditions in a farming style suitable to the terrain and food production. Is it any wonder that the Norwegians will not let the EU and CAP in?"
"Can we trust political parties in the future that are in thrall to the EU with some having their Annual Conference sponsored by Tesco to produce a fair plan for the future of land use? It is time to get out of the EU and CAP."
“There is no such thing as free trade, any more than there is such a thing as a free lunch. Unless it has its priorities right, an independent Scotland would find that out very quickly.”