A Policy for Agriculture Two motions were recently tabled in
the House of Commons stressing the urgent need of a Government declaration of post-war policy on agriculture. Up to now the responsible Minister has been at a disadvantage when faced with questions relating to the future, owing to the fact that the Cabinet is not yet in a position to define policy. Immens'e and highly successful efforts have been made by the- farming community as a whole to increase the pro- ductivity of the soil and to grow the foods which were needed in war-time. These achievements have been made possible by sub-
sidies and guarantees and various forms of State aid lavishly provided under the necessities of war. But what about after the war? The farmers have been assured that for some time to come, while provision is being made for the hungry countries of Europe, the production of home-grown food must remain at a high level. But agriculturists need to be able to look far ahead. Mr. Hudson has said from time to time that in the future the standard of living of food-growers overseas will have to be studied as well as that of our agricultural labourers at home—which is another way of saying that food imports will not be so cheap as they have been in the past. We do not need to wait for the framing of a world food policy before deciding our own capacity for production ; on the contrary, the determination of our own capacity would be a con- tribution to the general problem.
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