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NFU gives evidence on flooding

(Friday 1 February 2008)

Senior MPs, who sit on the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, have heard at first hand how last summer's floods affected farmers across Yorkshire and how a greater commitment to river maintenance is essential in tackling the threat of more frequent flooding in future.

A delegation of four Yorkshire farmers and NFU staff were invited to give evidence to the Committee in Lincoln on Wednesday afternoon (30 Jan) and took full advantage of the opportunity to impress on MPs the seriousness of the situation.

According to NFU Vice President, Driffield farmer Paul Temple, the main objective for the day was to get across the fact that while agriculture does have a role to play in flood alleviation and the protection of urban areas, reliance on so-called 'washlands' is only feasible as part of an overall strategy.

"While it's true that agricultural land can be used to store water, it's a complete non-starter to expect local farmers to continually cope with the kind of conditions we saw last summer," he said.

"A longstanding lack of investment in river maintenance meant that the river network was simply unable to cope with the huge volumes of water and as a result, flooding persisted for weeks.

"Grassland and crops can withstand some flooding, but it's essential the water is moved away quickly otherwise the damage is irreparable and farmers stand to lose hugely valuable crops and essential grazing for livestock.

"The key is a firm commitment by the Environment Agency and Natural England to maintain the rivers and in particular to carry out dredging operations. This is not only a tried and tested method - its effectiveness is being demonstrated right now in the Hedon Haven, where three weeks of dredging has had dramatic effects."

As well as making a strong case for more river maintenance, the NFU also reminded MPs that the impact of prolonged flooding does not impact on farmers alone but on consumers too through rising food prices.

"Some of our most productive agricultural land is actually on flood plains - land that is managed through an extensive network of drainage ditches developed hundreds of years ago," he added. "One approach to the problem of more frequent flooding is to simply abandon the land to the water, but with food security ever higher on the national agenda, this is a seriously risky option.

"We are already seeing some countries unable to export food in the quantities they have in the past. In essence this means we can no longer rely on being able to import food as and when we need it - so our ability to grow our own produce is increasingly important.

"What we need is a good constructive dialogue between farmers and the government to ensure that the emphasis is on flexibility and the development of local solutions. That said, no-one seems to want to put any money into this and it is a nonsense to imagine that anything can be achieved without significant public investment."

Commenting after the Committee session, Driffield farmer Martin Voase said he thought the session had gone very well.

"There was limited opportunity for individual farmers to address the Committee, but we had an excellent NFU team who provided very detailed answers to the MPs' questions as well hard figures on the extent and impact of the flooding in East Yorkshire," he said.

"It was hard to gauge the reaction of the Committee members, but I felt we had a good opportunity to put our case in great detail."