Agriculture and Fisheries

2.9 Agriculture and Fisheries

2.9.1 English agriculture should be organised and, where necessary, financed in a way that suits English interests. Likewise, English fishing grounds should be treated as a national resource and be managed by a body which includes representatives of the English fishing industry.
2.9.2 The aim of English agriculture should be to provide good quality food at a reasonable price. This should be done in a way that is environmentally friendly. Concern for the environment should not cause us to lose sight of the fact that the primary role of farmers is to produce food.
2.9.3 The whole array of agricultural subsidies and marketing schemes needs overhauling. The strategic aim should be to help those in temporary need, and secure reliable supplies. To this end we favour greater use of targeted support, and fewer general subsidies.
2.9.4 Support, where appropriate, would be provided for farmers who wish to switch away from factory farming to mixed farming and organic production.
2.9.5 Schemes to encourage the local production and distribution of food will be developed. In all areas of agriculture we should seek more environmentally friendly and healthy production.
2.9.6 We should strive to ensure that all rules and regulations which are applied to domestic production are also applied to imports.