THE theme of this year’s Jersey Farming Conference might have been Farming Matters, but Ferry Matters soon emerged as a strong subsidiary theme.
Sustainable Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel was at the conference to make a speech on agriculture. He was unable to disclose very much about Ferry Matters because of “legal ramifications and lawyers behind him telling him what could and could not be said”.
He did, however, answer one question that was very relevant to produce exporters: freight links. Had a bidder for freight links stated they would provide benefits for farmers?
He answered that at least one of the bidders had done so, providing a flat rate for export goods, which would bring competition to the freight logistics market.
“It would have created transparency and, from an agricultural perspective, it would have meant that exporters would have known exactly how much it was going to cost to ship their goods in and out of the Island. Getting rid of a variable and turning it into a constant would be a great step forward,’ said the minister.
The Island has to rely on regular ferry services to deliver food and, when they can’t because of bad weather or technical issues, everyone is aware of the empty shelves and lack of choice that is the result. That means that Deputy Morel is effectively the minister for food security.
In the interests of encouraging local food production, his department is encouraging smaller producers, and the Rural Support Scheme [the subsidy scheme for agriculture] now enables smallholders to be a part of the scheme, something which was previously not possible.
“It’s a huge success story,” Deputy Morel said. “We’ve gone in three years from no smallholders to more than 80, so that’s at least 80 new farmers. Some will become larger commercial farmers, which is what we need. Some will remain smallholders, which creates variety, and they can also more easily become organic or sustainable, as they don’t have the commercial pressures.
“Let’s face reality: we will never be able to feed a population of more than 100,000 people purely from local produce. What we can do is to provide more food for people in Jersey, while also developing our export markets.
“Historically, Jersey’s food production for local consumption has been on the back of an export market. I am sure there are innovators in the industry who want to find new markets, so it’s not just all about Jersey Royals.
“Every business plays a vital role in ensuring we have a robust and viable rural economy, regardless of the size of the business or the particular niche in which it operates.’
On the subject of local produce, what can be done to help people, especially those on a low income, with the price of food. If, for example, GST was abolished on locally produced foods, would that encourage sales of local produce and also reduce the expense for consumers? Would the minister be in favour of that or, alternatively, of imposing tariffs on imported produce?
He did not express any enthusiasm for either suggestion.
“If we were to remove GST from locally grown produce, it would effectively reduce the price of it by 5%,” he said. “Would that reduction actually be passed on by the retailers? Would it make much difference in terms of increasing consumer purchasing? I don’t see, on retail offers, a 5% reduction advertised as something that would attract sales, or be sufficient to make people alter their buying choices.
“Tariffs would just be inflationary. Their effect would just be to push up the cost of living in Jersey, and would be unlikely to have a huge impact on increasing purchases of local food.”
Changes
The minister reflected on the changes that had occurred over the past three years and how the government – and especially his department – had been able to help the farming sector to adapt to change and meet the inevitable challenges of the future.
“Two years ago I had to admit that – despite farming’s historic significance to our Island and the enormous value it brings – there had been a steady reduction in government support for farming over recent decades,” he said. “Successive governments had drawn down Jersey’s support for agriculture at the same time as neighbouring jurisdictions had increased their own. As a result, the sector had been competing on an unlevel playing field and the pressures this brought had reached a peak.
“At the time, I said that this was a trend that we had to reverse if we expected to maintain a sustainable rural economy and preserve not only this industry but also the familiar face of the Island for future generations. Two years on from there, we have managed to reverse the trend successfully.
“Members of our States Assembly voted last year to support increased spending on both the rural and marine support schemes. Not one single Member of the States Assembly voted against the proposition. That clearly demonstrated that support for farmers and fishermen is a priority for States Members, and I am pleased that this is now being delivered in actions rather than mere words.
“Thanks to that vote, our increased budget has enabled us to deliver over £6 million in rural support for the first time in over 20 years.”
While that sounds good, did that not mean that the agricultural sector was entirely dependent on finance handed out by the government?
“Dependence? What about the dependence by the entire population on farmers, who provide food to put on the table every day?” responded Deputy Morel. “Most of our food, of course, arrives by ferry and that food is produced by other farming industries elsewhere, in jurisdictions that have continued to make significant investments into their own food systems.
“Yes, farming is dependent on government finance – everywhere. In the UK, £2.4 billion is spent on farmers and farming every year. In the EU, they receive 60 billion euros. Between 2000 and 2018, financial support from government to farming fell dramatically – massively – by many millions of pounds. Essentially, the government was saying that farmers had to operate in an entirely free market.
“That’s fine, except for the fact that the rest of the world doesn’t operate an entirely free market for farming, so Jersey was pretty much the only place in the world that effectively was not supporting its farmers. In 2018, £800,000 was being paid in support of around 40 farmers, which meant hardly anything per farmer.
“In Jersey, it got the point where farmers were being told ‘act as though you are in a free market’, when all our farmers’ competitors were not operating in a free market. All of them were being subsidised to a much greater extent by their home jurisdictions.
“Therefore, we were expecting Jersey, where there are no economies of scale, to be competing against massive farms elsewhere, which were also receiving massive subsidies in comparison to Jersey. Not only was that not viable but that pathway could only have led to the collapse of farming in Jersey.
“Hence, we stepped in to say: ‘No, that is not a pathway that we are willing to tread.’ It is only right that we in Jersey bear a fair share of the costs of keeping our local farming viable, especially if we are to maintain a progressive and sustainable agricultural and food system, which feeds us, provides meaningful employment and cares for our environment.
“I firmly believe that if we do not invest in our farming and fishing industries as a society, those industries will not be able to compete and will disappear from Island life. We have come precariously close. Farming has huge benefits for Jersey in terms of food security, landscape management and culture, and therefore we want to support it, and we know that the only way farming here will survive is through government support.
“Anyone who is so libertarian or neo-liberal as to believe that farming can stand on its own two feet is sadly misguided.”
Loans fund and support
Two years ago at the Farming Conference, Deputy Morel remarked that it is was not too late for the government to step up its support for agriculture, but this could not be delayed any longer.
This year, he said: “Thank goodness we have indeed stepped up. We have transformed our policies, budget and the way funding is delivered. We have made – and are making – a difference… even if there is much yet to do.”
As an example, he said that a revitalised Agricultural Loans Fund was ready to launch, even if its reintroduction had not been a straightforward process. A new loans board met on 25 September, the first time since 2003 that such a body has convened.
There is sufficient money in the fund, now, he said, adding that the current budget proposals ensure that a £10million fund will be established and will be accessible into the future.
The costs of paying a living wage have been of concern to both rural and marine sectors of the economy. But for each of the next two years, support of £1.1 million to enable businesses to transition to this will be provided through the existing Rural Support Scheme.
“Government will do everything it can to ensure the impact of the increase is not detrimental to the rural and marine economies,” said Deputy Morel.
“This new package is one part of a much bigger plan, one that is aimed at helping all Island businesses to become better. In total the package is worth £20million over two years.”
In addition, there are numerous grants applicable to both the agricultural sector and the wider economy to enable employers to invest in their staff and in themselves with the aim of improving their productivity.
Longer term
With the money coming into the farming sector having happened largely under his tenure as minister, what would happen if there was a change of government?
“That’s the sad truth about democracy. You never know which minister is going to come next,” he said.
“Deputy Luce’s proposition to increase the amount of funding to £4m and then to £6m was a States Assembly decision. That locks in the funding over the long term and it would take a new decision – a rescindment decision – to overturn that.”
Deputy Morel agreed that a long-term challenge revolved around enabling young people to launch a farming career because of the enormous capital costs involved.
This problem was addressed, he said, in the Rural Economy Strategy, through the proposal to launch a Farming Foundation, which could potentially see the government own land, which it would then let out to farmers and young farmers.
In conclusion, then, how does Deputy Morel see the future of agriculture in Jersey?
“I believe the Jersey agriculture sector can have a really good future, based in market realities – and it needs government support if it is to have a long-term future. I do believe it has a particular niche: its high-quality products, from a tiny island, its small farms … those are the sorts of stories that people who market products and end consumers love,” he said.
“But we must constantly innovate, in order to stay as a competitive market. We can’t pretend that farming in Jersey will necessarily look the same as farming in Jersey has done for the past 100 years or so. There will be different ways of farming.
“I think we can have a thriving future for farming. I believe that is possible. When I look at farming in Jersey, I see an ancient industry that has constantly reinvented itself and moved with the times. It is a sector that has innovated, changed and improved to the extent that it provides every single Islander with value, regardless of whether they buy local produce or not.
“Therefore, everybody – government and the public – needs to step up and back the rural and marine sector to the hilt because their future success is also Jersey’s future success.”
