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Food crisis 'worsened by govt's farming policies'

11/06/2008

Poor domestic food policies mean the government could be held partly responsible for the world food price crisis, according to the Conservatives.

Shadow agriculture minister Jim Paice will tell arable farming stakeholders in Lincolnshire he believes the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is not doing enough to help them and that this could have a negative impact around the world.

"As food shortages take hold across the world we should be looking to optimise domestic production and relieve pressure on world markets," he will say.

"The government blindly adheres to a policy that views our farmers as dispensable and their produce unnecessary to ensure food security, at a time when the UN is calling for a 50 per cent increase in production.

"This approach threatens to exacerbate the food shortages which are having a devastating effect around the world."

The Conservatives are promising to help the agriculture industry by cutting regulation so they can be "less onerous" and "more realistic".

Reducing the burden imposed from central government will help check the falling percentage of Britain's food produced at home, which has slipped from 85 per cent in 1996 to 74 per cent last year.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs did not immediately respond to Mr Paice's comments.