The Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, announced today by Chancellor Gordon Brown, offers some welcome new money for farming, environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth (FoE) said.
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Commenting on the Chancellor’s promise to fund the core recommendations of the Curry report into the future of food and farming, FOE Food and Famring Campaigner Peter Riley said: The Chancellor has given DEFRA an overall budget increase. The detailed figures need careful checking to see whether Curry’s full package has in fact been funded – the Chancellor’s reference to core recommendations only is worrying in this respect.
“DEFRA need to spend the new money wisely. There have to be some clear environmental gains. But there is also a pressing need to developing strong local and regional food economies, aimed at improving farm incomes. Tackling the power of large companies at the top end of the food chain who force farm gate prices down must also be a top Government priority, if the rural economy is ever to get back on its feet.”
