Cornish farmer makes plea for political stability

A new plan for the future of farming could be undermined by the current lack of political stability, a Cornish farmer has warned.

The government has unveiled its new roadmap for the industry until 2050, external, including an emphasis on technology and robotics and a new subsidy scheme.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said it would provide “clarity” for farmers and give them confidence to invest and innovate in future.

However, those in the industry feared the impending change of prime minister could lead to some parts of the plan not being followed through or a change in policy.

Rob Halliday, a livestock farmer in Quethiock, said the roadmap had some good ambitions but he feared it could fail to be implemented properly.

“We’ve had so many changes – 10 environment secretaries in 10 years,” he said.

“Every time we have a new secretary, things tend to be shelved and there’s new ideas.

“We find ourselves quite often presented with MPs that don’t come from a rural constituency and it’s yet another education process to bring them up to speed.

“There’s more time spent educating than trying to make progress and actually achieving. We need a period of stability.”