Farmers in crisis
From Lord Vinson of Roddarn Dene Sir: Michael Hanlon's provocative article (`Throw them to the wolves', 21 September) on British agriculture misses two essential points.
The first is that governments worldwide, including America, are subsidising their farmers owing to the collapse of farm-gate prices to below the cost of production, because of worldwide overproduction. Far from prices falling if subsidies were abolished, they would have to rise to prevent wholesale farm bankruptcies. The marginal producer would perish, but it is, of course, marginal output that is depressing prices today.
Secondly, he goes on to illustrate what happened in New Zealand and how its agriculture is now unsubsidised, but he forgot to mention that the removal of subsidies was accompanied by a 20 per cent devaluation of the currency — unlikely here.
In terms of natural advantage, much British land can produce food as economically as anywhere else, but the chances of an unsubsidised free market in food raises the whole question of food security, which most governments still rank as a priority.
Vinson
Alnwick, Northumberland
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