Scottish Farmers Answer Their Critics

Source from:  PANOS (London) Ndesanjo Macha 07/11/2005

European and American governments have been accused of providing huge subsidies to their farmers while at the same time preventing African countries from doing the same to help their poor farmers. Ndesanjo Macha spoke with Andy Robertson, John Kinnairdy, and James Withers, of the National Farmers Union of Scotland. What do you expect to come out of the G8 Summit? We don't want leaders of the G8 to have to choose between helping farmers in Europe or Africa. Farmers both in Africa and Scotland need to be helped to cope with the cost of production. Most politicians are looking for quick answers and are using farming as a form of political football. Politicians usually get away with simple answers when it comes to farming. You also have to understand that most politicians come from urban areas so farming issues are not their priority. They see farming as a very small industry. What they don't understand is that farming is about more than the production of food, it is also about conservation. Farmers protect the countryside and have made it very beautiful for many years. What are your views on subsidies? Most people do not see the whole picture around the issue of subsidies. We support specific types of subsidies that do not distort trade. And we are saying that if you get fair prices you don't need subsidies. It is also wrong to think that farmers in Scotland are wealthy large-scale farmers like the farmers in America. Most of our members are small-scale farmers who need subsidies. We would rather operate in a system that ensured fair prices than receive subsidies. But since we are not getting fair prices, we think subsidies are important. Subsidies do not only help farmers but also local communities, because we use the money to maintain the countryside, roads, fences, etc. We reinvest the money back into the community. The European Union has recently reformed the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) so that subsidies are not about quantity, but quality and environmental conservation. One of the key issues of concern to African farmers is access to European markets. They have to compete with Scottish farmers, who receive state subsidies. We don't compete with African farmers, we do not grow coffee, cotton, tea, or tobacco. We would like people in Africa to know that we don't want their farmers to suffer, nor do we want to be the cause of their problems. We don't think there is conflict between UK farmers and African farmers. Actually, we want to see farmers all over the world flourish and have their needs met. How much does a common farmer in Scotland get in subsidies? What do you think of media coverage of farmers' issues? The media loves simple soundbites, and as a result, most people don't make the connection between what they eat and what happens in the countryside. Enditem