US and European dominance in farming under threat, report warns

From The Guardian UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/04/us-european-dominance-farming

Call for significant increase in UK food production to counter threat of losing influence at global level

Juliette Jowit
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012

The dominance of the US and Europe in global food and farming is under threat from their lack of natural resources and the rising power of China, Russia and Brazil, finds a major report published on Wednesday.

The report, commissioned by UK farming leaders, finds British agriculture vulnerable to the same trends and calls for a "significant" increase in output to counter the threat of losing influence at a global level.

However, the call for more productivity will be greeted with caution by critics who fear that farmers will use the study to put pressure on the coalition government to cut back on regulations to protect the environment and consumers.

The report, Power in Agriculture, produced a global power index suggesting that the US was still the biggest player in the global industry, followed closely by the EU. They were followed by China and Russia, and just behind them the UK. This trio was tailed by Japan, Australasia and Brazil. The index was based on data from, among others, the World Trade Organisation, the US department for agriculture, and the United Nations.

The report's authors, the Scottish Agricultural College, said the UK's continuing "power" was thanks to continuing political influence and strong export and import markets, but was threatened by poor natural and mineral resources. Instead the country needs "significantly more productivity" to keep its place at the top table, says the report, commissioned by the Oxford Farming Conference, which opened on Tuesday and represents major farming lobby groups and agri-business.

Continue reading at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/04/us-european-dominance-farming