Cameron urges British farmers to tap into environmental market

FARMERS can help tackle global warming by doing everything from supplying wool for home insulation and growing energy crops to making breeze blocks out of hemp or producing biomass for heat and power, British Tory leader David Cameron said yesterday.

Mr Cameron told the Oxford Farming Conference that the agri-industry in Britain needs to tap into new environmental markets.

“Fuel crops have the potential to help meet our environmental objectives, help provide energy security and help provide our farmers with a new source of income.

“So far, it’s been tough to make profits in these markets. And, as sceptics point out, not every farmer can go down this path and, even if they did, we wouldn’t solve all our environmental or security problems.

“But these are new markets. They are an important part of the future and a Conservative government would do all that it could to remove the obstacles to their development, including looking at [tax] incentives,” he said.

A project that highlights economic opportunities for farmers, as well as the environmental threats, from climate change was launched at the conference.

The 12-month scheme is a joint initiative between environment charity Forum for the Future, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the Applied Research Forum (ARF) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), and is funded by the British Government.

A task force will identify adaptations as well as opportunities the industry can take to reduce its carbon footprint as well as continuing to produce a plentiful supply of high quality food.