James ‘I will knock heads together’ Paice should take lessons from Caroline Spelman, and offer justice to farmers

Addressing farmers at a dairy summit organised by farming groups earlier this month, UK minister for agriculture Jim Paice said: “I am going to knock some heads together.” Some versions say ‘bang heads’.

This bully boy phrase has often been repeated, since a spokesman for Defra confirmed that environment Secretary Caroline Spelman and Farming Minister Jim Paice are to meet farmers, milk processors and supermarkets next week.

Mr Paice favours the voluntary code ‘solution’ which is backed by some of the country’s largest dairy processors.

 

Most dairy farmers, like the European parliament, favour compulsory contracts which would, at best, give processors and supermarkets no ‘wriggle room’.

 

Solihull News (20th July), Caroline Spelman met a delegation of local dairy farmers at Westminster and assured them that:

“The government is taking steps to help them through tough times.

“We all want to see dairy farmers paid a proper price for their milk and the measures the government are taking will help them achieve this.”

 

We hope so.

 

“A slice of contracts, irrespective of actual public benefit or sustainability . . .”

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Copa-Cogeca knows better – scroll down

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As James Paice flies to China, the words of a local transport consultant came to mind. He emailed, “businessmen are clamouring for ever-more-expensive solutions that their companies can get a slice of in contracts, irrespective of actual public benefit or sustainability . . .”

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Exports to China an ‘engine for growth’

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That was my reaction to our agriculture minister repeating Defra’s mantra: describing exports to China as an ‘engine for growth’.

Earlier professions of concern for the environment, oil consumption and China’s human rights record fly out of the window when money beckons.

And it will be the exporters, with the greatest political lobbying power, who will take by far the largest share – not those who do the essential work.

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Pie in the sky?
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Mr Paice focussed on the pig industry, but China has been the biggest pig and pork producing country in the world for many years. That must be why he says they want to export ‘pig genetics’ – enabling more intensive production in China.

But China is encouraging its industries to diversify, giving low-costs loans to enable large companies like Wuhan Iron & Steel to add pig production and other agricultural enterprises to their portfolios.

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Get your own house in order

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Before using taxpayers’ money to finance and insure export deals, Mr Paice should be working to get his own country’s food supply on a firmer footing by helping to negotiate a set of fair practices agreed by all actors along the food chain, including farmers, co-operatives, traders, and other retailers.

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Or face a demand for legislation

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In a document on Copa-Cogeca’s recent seminar on the food chain, accessible from their website’s home page, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen warns that should voluntary agreements to address unfair commercial practices not deliver in the short term, the alternative is to demand legislation addressing B2B* unfair commercial practices along the food chain.

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Wikipedia: B2B means Business-to-business commerce transactions –for instance between producer and retailer