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Mick Bates

Press Releases 2006

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Farmers have to meet the demand for action on climate change if public money is to continue being spent on them and for Welsh agriculture to survive by 2020. That’s the stark warning from Mick Bates, countryside spokesperson for the Welsh Liberal Democrats, as he sets out the party’s vision for the future of farming in Wales.

Addressing a meeting of the Glamorgan NFU in Pontypridd Mick – a Montgomeryshire farmer – will tell the audience that farmers must develop a closer partnership with the public to meet demands for a green future.

In the first of a series of pre-election 2020 vision speeches from Welsh Lib Dem AMs that will set out the party’s direction of travel for the next four years and beyond to 2020, Mick will tell the audience that Welsh Lib Dem manifesto policies for agriculture will have a “green thread” running through them.

On justifying public money and building a partnership with the public

“For me that justification has to be delivering what the public needs, what they demand and what is good for the environment. For Welsh farming to survive it must be a green future.

“We’ve always adapted to meet public demand. There were great examples during the war, the shift in the 60s and 70s to bigger production and the modern development of agri-environmental schemes. Public demand will be about going green in the near future – the need for fresh healthy food, green power and protected countryside. That is the challenge and our opportunity.”

On Supermarkets

“For far too long they’ve been the Retail Park Robin Hood. Except they’ve got it back-to-front and have been robbing the farmer to pay the shareholder.

“Our industry cannot continue to survive on hand-outs – we must make money and make it in the market. That means persuading supermarkets of the economic case for greater procurement, promotion and labelling of locally produced and sourced food.”

On healthy food and public procurement

“We have some of the worst eating habits in the world – yet we produce some of the best food. The public sector should lead on buying local healthy food. I want to make it easier for small enterprises to bid for public procurement, an ambition my party shares. It will reduce food miles and is good for health and good for the environment.”

On the environment

“Farmers have a special responsibility as guardians of the countryside. It’s good practice to further bio-diversity and build strong eco-systems – that’s sustainable development in action.

“But I see a future where farmers aren’t just providing healthy fuel for our hunger; they’re providing the fuel for our heating systems, our cars and tractors!

“People are now realising that we have to move away from fossil fuels. Energy crops are a cheap, secure alternative to oil. It is the agricultural industry that has the capacity for abundant biomass production. Farmers could even become the new energy sheiks!”

In conclusion Mick will say:

“I know that Welsh farming can have a bright future, a green future. Small family farms, working together where possible to improve market presence, are at the heart of the future.

“Promoting Welsh agriculture and exploiting that modern desire for local, healthy food and green action are essential for a healthier economy, a healthier population and a healthier environment.”