Farming leader ‘nervous’ over protests that could hit public support
National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batter was speaking as demonstrations are held in the UK and across Europe over farming policy.
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Your support makes all the difference.Farming leader Minette Batters has said she is “really nervous” about ongoing protests, as farmers stage demonstrations in the UK and across Europe.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, who is ending her tenure in the role after a decade, said she supported the right to protest.
But she raised concerns about losing the support of the British public, pointing to the reaction to environmental protesters Just Stop Oil.
My nervousness with protests, and we've seen it with Just Stop Oil, is when you start interfering and disrupting people's daily lives, you very quickly, if you do it wrong, lose support of the British public
Her comments came after a speech to the NFU annual conference in Birmingham by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in which he stressed his support for British farming and told producers “I have your back”.
Ms Batters outlined the challenges facing the sector, from flooding to high prices of fuel and fertiliser, mental health concerns and the shift from EU subsidies based on the amount of land farmed to environmental land management schemes which reward farmers for nature-friendly action.
In Wales, she warned the Welsh government’s plan to shift to sustainable farming would – by its own assessment – lead to 122,200 fewer livestock, 5,500 job losses and a £199 million loss to farm incomes.
In her speech to the conference she described the proposals as a “red line” and told delegates “we will not cross it”.
The proposals have prompted protests by farmers in Wales, while producers across Europe have been protesting over EU policies on the environment and other matters, which they say are a financial burden and make their products more expensive than non-EU imports.
Asked about protests after her speech, Ms Batters said: “I think we have to be really grateful that freedom of speech and right to peaceful protests are our fundamental rights of democracy here in this country.
“And they’re really important and on that basis, we do support them.
“My nervousness with protests, and we’ve seen it with Just Stop Oil, is when you start interfering and disrupting people’s daily lives, you very quickly, if you do it wrong, lose support of the British public.
“It’s not something that I would I would ever rule out but I’d be really nervous in this country of disrupting daily lives,” she said, warning that if farmers pitch the British public against them, it would take “years to recover from”.
She hit out at the Welsh government, saying it had to listen and change, but said the only way to resolve the issue was sitting down at the table and having “responsible” conversations to sort it out.