Govt to Introduce Environmental Audits

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Monday, 09 December 2002

Environmental audits of farms are to be introduced to check how much pollution individual farmers create and whether they are meeting new green targets, Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, will announce later this week.

The "whole farm audits", designed to support the new environmental scheme open to all farmers, will be one of a raft of measures unveiled in the government's farming strategy on Thursday.

Other measures include boosting the use of technology, increasing co-operation among farmers, and making food producers more aware of consumer needs.

Mrs Beckett will also warn that prime responsibility for the future of farming and others in the food industries lies with themselves. Although government can help, the food chain must act together, she will say.

However, the strategy, which will generally endorse the conclusions of the Curry Commission on the future of farming, could face criticism for not going far enough on curbing the power of supermarkets or integrating agriculture and water policy.

Source: John Mason, Food and Rural Affairs Correspondent Financial Times Dec 09, 2002