DIEU DROIT Agricultural Policy. Presented to Parliament by LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: Adastral House, Kingsway, London, W.C. 2; 28, Abingdon Street, London, S.W. 1; York Street, Manchester; 1, St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; or 120, George Street, Edinburgh; or through any Bookseller. 1926. Price 2d. Net. Cmd. 2581. 1. During the past year the agricultural situation has received the close attention of the Government, and a careful examination has been made of a large number of proposals and expressions of opinion submitted by agricultural organisations and others for the consideration of the Government in response to the invitation which was given by the late Minister of Agriculture. 2. There is a wide measure of agreement that a national agricultural policy should aim at securing the two following objects : (1) That the land should yield its highest economic possibilities in the way of food for the nation, and (2) That it should furnish a basis of life and a reasonable livelihood to the greatest number of people. 3. There is, however, little or no agreement either in the agricultural industry itself or among the different political parties as to the measure that should be adopted to secure these objects. In these circumstances it is the duty of the Government to state the conclusions at which it has arrived as a result of its own consideration of the problem, bearing in mind the fundamental importance of protecting the industry from the danger of sharp reversals of national policy. 4. Increased production and greater employment would be secured by a large increase in the arable area, but it is clear that at the present level of corn prices, no such increase could be secured without (1) the imposition of protective duties on imported corn, which would be contrary to the pledges of the Government and to the policy of the other political parties, or (2) the payment of some form of subsidy. 5. The Government have considered various proposals which have been submitted to them involving subsidies, either direct or indirect, to encourage corn growing or the increase of the arable area, but they have come to the definite conclusion that they cannot support or advocate any of them. A subsidy may sometimes be justified as a purely temporary expedient or if it is required to start a new industry like beet sugar, but any general scheme of subsidies for agriculture is open to the gravest objection. They would have to be unlimited in duration and very large in amount to have any material effect in increasing the arable area or the number of workers employed. Even a subsidy of 21. an acre on arable land, which would amount to over 20,000,0007. a year, would not necessarily result in any considerable increase, and in the present financial situation of the country, it is impossible to contemplate a large additional charge on public funds without any guarantee of a corresponding national benefit. Moreover, in view of the extreme variations all over the country in the quality or productive capacity of the land, it is impossible to devise any scheme of subsidies which will not result in the payment of a bonus to farmers who do not need it and for which no return will be received by the nation. The Government have also examined the question from the point of view of national defence and have come to the conclusion that no case has been made out on defence grounds which would justify the expenditure necessary to induce farmers in time of peace to produce more than economic considerations dictate. The maximum possible increase to the national food supply would be relatively small from the defence point of view in comparison to the cost involved. All proposals that have been made on the grounds of national defence have aimed at extending the area under wheat. None of these schemes could make the country self-supporting as regards bread-stuffs except at an impossible cost. On the other hand, from a purely economic point of view it will probably be better business for the British farmer to devote his energies as largely as possible to the livestock industry and to aim at meeting the demands of the population for meat and milk. 6. For all these reasons the Government are not prepared to recommend subsidies and they are also definitely opposed to any system of compulsory control of cultivation by committees or officials, which any direct financial assistance to the industry would be certain sooner or later to involve. Such control would, in the opinion of the Government, entirely fail to secure the objects in view, would be intensely repugnant to all classes concerned, and would, if persisted in, lead inevitably to the complete nationalisation of the whole farming industry of the country. 7. In the view of the Government, agriculture, of all the industries in the country, is the least adapted to drastic and spectacular action on the part of the State, and its present condition is not such as to justify revolutionary methods. In common with many other industries, it has been severely hit by the fall in prices after the War, but it is weathering the storm and there is no reason to fear that it will not adapt itself to the economic situation. 8. In these circumstances the right course in the best interests of the industry itself and of the nation as a whole, is to proceed on the lines of education and encouragement rather than of coercion, to endeavour to create that confidence which is essential for progress, to stimulate the private enterprise of those engaged in the industry, to assist them to organise themselves on an economic basis, and to protect them from the dislocation of reversals of policy and from rash proposals which would impair progress and breed insecurity. 9. On those lines the Government believe that useful assistance can be given in many directions, and in the forefront they would place the question of credit. For its proper development and o (2.2.26) (5)26176(25952) Wt 227820-351 1500 3/26 extension agriculture is in need of additional capital. The landowners of the country are to an increasing extent less able than formerly to supply what is needed for permanent improvements, credit is needed for the development of occupying ownership to which the Government attach great importance, and many farmers are seriously short of working capital, particularly if they have bought their farms. In these circumstances the Government are giving special consideration to the whole subject and discussions are proceeding with a view to the preparation of a scheme on a sound commercial basis for short term credit, credit for improvements and credit for land purchase, with the object of bringing the general credit machinery more into line with the existing economic needs of the industry. 10. The Government believe also that production and employment on the land can be increased by a development of small holdings on sound lines. Owing to the claims of the ex-service applicants, it has not been possible since the War to provide any facilities for the acquisition of land by large numbers of men who have the necessary knowledge and capital and who desire opportunities of obtaining an independent position as smallholders. It is proposed, therefore, to introduce legislation empowering County Councils to continue and extend the provision of small holdings and cottage holdings both for owner occupiers and for tenants. Provision will be made whereby the bona fide agricultural worker will be assisted to acquire as his own property a cottage and a small area of land which he can cultivate as an addition to his other earnings. 11. The position of the workers in agriculture is dependent on the relative prosperity of the industry as a whole, and the Agricultural Wages Regulation Act, which the Government are pledged to maintain, ensures that the wages paid are the utmost that the industry can afford. The proposals for small and cottage holdings and the facilities for the provision of allotments, which have recently been extended, offer opportunities of advancement to workers on the land, and the Rural Community Councils, the Women's Institutes and other agencies for the revival of rural industries and the social improvement of village life are doing much, with the aid of grants from the Development Fund, to increase the amenities of the countryside and to improve the lot of all classes of the rural population. The Government will do all in their power to foster and support this movement. 12. Large areas of land in many parts of Great Britain are more suited to the production of timber than food. An adequate supply of growing timber is also highly desirable on grounds of national defence. The development of Forest Policy is largely dependent on State action continuously applied over a period of years. The Forestry Commission was established to carry out such a policy and is actively engaged on a definite programme, including the afforestation of 150,000 acres in the 10-year period 1919-1929, the encouragement of private forestry by a system of grants, and the systematic establishment of forest workers' holdings at the rate of five holdings per 1,000 acres of afforestable land. It is anticipated that these holdings, the occupiers of which are guaranteed 150 days work per annum in the State forests, will make a useful permanent addition to the rural population, especially in poor grazing districts. The Crown Woods and Forests, including about 60,000 acres of woodland, have also been transferred to the Commissioners. The Government has agreed that this policy shall be carried on without interruption. 13. One of the most serious impediments to greater production is the waterlogged condition of considerable areas in different parts of the country. In many cases the cost of the necessary drainage works to remedy the defects is greater than the land can bear, and accordingly the Government propose to ask Parliament to vote a total sum of 1,000,000l. spread over the next five years to be expended in grants in aid of the cost of carrying out approved drainage schemes undertaken by Drainage Authorities. In order to deal with smaller schemes in areas where there is no Drainage Authority, it is proposed to introduce a Bill empowering County Councils to carry out the necessary work and recover the cost. 14. The question of the marketing of agricultural produce was thoroughly examined by the Linlithgow Committee and has since been developed in the series of Economic Reports published by the Ministry of Agriculture. The main initiative in this matter must come from the farmers themselves, and in face of the increasing competition in our home markets of imported foodstuffs of steadily improving quality, it is of the first importance that British producers should aim at supplying produce of the highest possible quality and should pay great attention to studying the markets and the taste of the British public. The Government are prepared to consider sympathetically any applications for assistance to sound schemes of co-operative organisation, and in this connection the Government propose to include home produce within the scope of any assi tance that may be given to the marketing of Empire produce. It is also hoped that the credit proposals will be of considerable service in helping to finance the development of co-operative marketing. In addition, the Merchandise Marks Bill which will be introduced this Session will provide for the marking of imported agricultural produce so far as practicable, and the question of introducing a system of Cash-on-Delivery is under consideration. 15. The work which has been done in recent years in creating and maintaining a comprehensive scheme of Agricultural Research and Education, in providing an advisory service in technical agriculture, in economics and in farm costings, and in promoting Live Stock improvement, will be continued and developed; and the Government will recommend to Parliament |