DOCSLIB.ORG

English Pig Farmers' Knowledge and Behaviour OPEN ACCESS Towards ASF in Terms of Clinical Suspicion and Reporting

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
English Pig Farmers' Knowledge and Behaviour OPEN ACCESS Towards ASF in Terms of Clinical Suspicion and Reporting RESEARCH ARTICLE English Pig Farmers’ Knowledge and Behaviour towards African Swine Fever Suspicion and Reporting Claire Guinat1,2*, Ben Wall1, Linda Dixon2, Dirk Udo Pfeiffer1 1 Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, United Kingdom, 2 The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright laboratory, Ash road, Pirbright, Surrey, GU24 0NF, United Kingdom * [email protected] Abstract African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable, virulent swine disease, and is a major threat to ani- a11111 mal health and trade for many European Union (EU) countries. Early detection of the intro- duction of ASF virus is of paramount importance to be able to limit the potential extent of outbreaks. However, the timely and accurate reporting of ASF primary cases strongly depends on how familiar pig farmers are with the clinical signs, and their motivation to report the disease. Here, an online questionnaire survey was conducted between Decem- ber 2014 and April 2015 to investigate English pig farmers' knowledge and behaviour OPEN ACCESS towards ASF in terms of clinical suspicion and reporting. Multivariable logistic regression Citation: Guinat C, Wall B, Dixon L, Pfeiffer DU analysis was used to identify factors influencing the two variables of interest: 1) farmers (2016) English Pig Farmers' Knowledge and Behaviour towards African Swine Fever Suspicion who ªwould immediately suspect ASFº if they observed clinical signs of fever, lethargy, and Reporting. PLoS ONE 11(9): e0161431. reduced eating and high mortality on their farm and 2) farmers who ªwould immediately doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161431 report ASFº if they suspected ASF on their farm. The questionnaire was completed by 109 Editor: Odir AntoÃnio Dellagostin, Universidade pig farmers. Results indicate that pig farmers having poor knowledge about ASF clinical Federal de Pelotas, BRAZIL signs and limited concern about ASF compared with other pig diseases are less likely to Received: October 23, 2015 consider the possibility of an outbreak of ASF on their farm. In addition, pig farmers lacking Accepted: August 5, 2016 awareness of outbreaks in other countries, having a perception of the negative impact on them resulting from false positive reporting and the perceived complexity of reporting pro- Published: September 29, 2016 cedures are less likely to report an ASF suspicion. These findings indicate important areas Copyright: 2016 Guinat et al. This is an open © for educational campaigns targeted at English pig farmers to focus on in an attempt to access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which increase the likelihood of a rapid response in the event of an ASF outbreak. permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: Data are available on Figshare (DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.3504098). Introduction Funding: The authors received no specific funding The circulation of African swine fever virus (ASFV; family Asfarviridae) in Eastern Europe for this work. since 2007 and more recently in European Union (EU) countries has caused considerable con- Competing Interests: The authors have declared cern over the potential for ASFV to spread into Western Europe[1, 2]. ASFV causes a highly that no competing interests exist. virulent disease in domestic pigs with significant economic impact for the pig industry due to a PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0161431 September 29, 2016 1 / 13 English Pig Farmers and African Swine Fever fatality rate of up to 100% and the culling measures and movement bans necessary to control the virus[1, 3]. Containing the ongoing ASF epidemic in Eastern Europe remains a challenge, particularly due to the absence of vaccines or treatment, the stability of the virus in the environ- ment, potential illegal movements of live pigs and pig products, the relatively large number of low-biosecurity farms, the commonplace use of swill feeding, and frequent interactions between domestic and wild swine[4]. In ASF-free European countries, early detection of ASFV introduction is therefore crucial to protect pig health, maintain access to global trade in pigs and pig products, and thereby limit the economic impact of an ASF epidemic. In England, ASF could potentially be introduced through legal and illegal movement of contaminated pig prod- ucts which may then also subsequently be used for swill feeding. Around 23% of pig farmers interviewed in England have reported using swill to feed their pigs although this practice was banned in the United Kingdom in 2011 [5]. In a recent study, this risk of introduction was con- sidered to be one of the highest in the EU, due to the large number of ports, airports and travel- lers coming from affected areas [6]. Therefore, the possibility of an ASF epidemic represents a significant economic risk, and preparedness for an ASFV incursion is of high importance to the English pig industry. In England, the current surveillance system for ASFV relies entirely on the immediate and mandatory notification of any clinically suspect animals by pig farmers to their veterinary sur- geon [7], who will then initiate an investigation by local Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) veterinary surgeons. Blood and tissue samples are collected for laboratory analysis, and diagnostic results should be available within 24–48 hours. While under investigation, sus- pect farms are placed under movements’ restrictions in order to reduce the risk of ASFV spread via infected pigs, contaminated vehicles or equipment. In the case of ASFV introduction into the country, the compliance of all farmers with this policy should be able to limit the spread of the virus and thereby mitigate the early spread of the epidemic before control strategies can be implemented. However, a number of factors may delay reporting by farmers. Firstly, the symptoms of ASF are not specific, particularly in the early clinical stage of the disease. Fever, lethargy and loss of appetite are generally observed among infected domestic pigs, in association with sudden deaths within 2–3 weeks [8, 9]. Other symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea and haemor- rhages. This is similar to other pig diseases, particularly classical swine fever (CSF), or porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) which is endemic in England[10, 11]. The dis- ease can also express itself in some domestic pigs in more unusual clinical manifestations, such as with neurological symptoms, and in some cases may even be asymptomatic [12, 13]. Previ- ous surveys have concluded that farmers’ awareness is biased towards diseases which occur at higher prevalence [14], such as PRRS. Since an ASF outbreak has never been confirmed in England, it is unlikely that farmers will have much awareness of the disease, if any. This view is supported by the fact that the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB Pork) recently had to cancel seminars on ASF and porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus due to a lack of interest from the pig industry [15]. Farmers’ awareness of specific clinical signs is essential for early detection of any disease by state authorities [16]. In addition, even if farmers are aware of a particular disease, whether and when they decide to report suspected cases will depend on a variety of factors. A previous study suggested that the main reasons for German, Russian and Bulgarian pig farmers not to imme- diately report suspected ASF cases included lack of knowledge of reporting procedures, the per- ceived impact a notification could have on their reputation, expectation that laboratory confirmation would take a long time, and the belief they could handle the outbreak themselves without the involvement of veterinary services [17]. These behavioural and motivational fac- tors have not yet been investigated among English pig farmers. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0161431 September 29, 2016 2 / 13 English Pig Farmers and African Swine Fever This study was conducted to investigate pig farmers’ knowledge and behaviour in relation to ASF suspicion and reporting in England, using an online questionnaire survey. Materials and Methods Data collection A questionnaire was developed to collect data on pig farmers’ knowledge of ASF clinical dis- ease, and behaviour in relation to ASF suspicion and reporting. The questionnaire contained 19 questions and was estimated to take around 10 minutes to complete. To maximise compara- bility between respondents, the questions were closed (i.e. questions were in a format that restricts respondents to a range of possible options from which they must choose) or semi- closed (i.e. allowing respondents to express their opinion) [18]. The questionnaire was piloted on one English pig farmer and two interviewers from AHDB Pork and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) to ensure that questions and pre-defined answers were sufficiently clear and rel- evant, and it was modified based on their feedback. A short introduction explained the reason for the study, and it was emphasised that answers were anonymous and confidential. The ques- tionnaire was divided into four sections. Section 1collected data on farm characteristics and practices, including herd size, production and housing type, number of animal workers and fre- quency of pig monitoring. Section 2 collected data on the farmers’ knowledge about ASF epide- miology including recent outbreaks, description of clinical signs,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Is Factory Farming Making Us Sick? IS FACTORY FARMING MAKING US SICK?
    Is Factory Farming making us sick? IS FACTORY FARMING MAKING US SICK? A Guide to Animal Diseases and their Impact on Human Health 1 Photo by Engin Akyurt Contents Introduction 4 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) 6 Bovine TB 8 BSE 10 Campylobacter 12 E. Coli (O157: H7) 14 Foot and Mouth Disease 16 Johne’s Disease 18 Meningitis 20 MRSA 22 Nipah 24 Q Fever 25 Salmonella 26 Swine Flu 28 Other Zoonotic Diseases 30 We can change 32 References 34 2 Is Factory Farming making us sick? 3 Photo by Ethan Kent Introduction The majority of farmed animals in the UK In recent years, animal farming has are reared intensively, inside crowded, filthy brought us outbreaks of BSE, bovine sheds which are the perfect environment TB, foot and mouth, bird flu, swine flu, for bacteria and viruses to flourish. Stressed campylobacter, salmonella and many by their surroundings and their inability more devastating diseases. No wonder to display natural behaviours, forced to the United Nations Food and Agriculture live in their own excrement alongside sick Organization has warned that global and dying animals, it is not surprising that industrial meat production poses a serious farmed animals are vulnerable to infection. threat to human health3. Their immunity is further weakened by the industry breeding from just a few CREATING ANTIBIOTIC high-yielding strains, which has led to genetic erosion. This makes it easier for RESISTANCE disease to sweep swiftly through a group Instead of protecting of animals, who are likely to share near- ourselves by changing identical genetics with little immunological how we treat animals resistance.
    [Show full text]
  • Tom Jenkins Dr Kate Pressland
    Plant. Grow. Innovate. O C T O B E R 9 T H - O C T O B E R 1 1 T H 2 0 2 0 V I R T U A L E V E N T London office +44 203 2878731 Europe Email address [email protected] South Asia Website www.thpoint0.io United Kingdom Contents I n t r o d u c t io n Introduction 2 From the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th Programme 3 century to playing a fundamental part in the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 70s, the UK is no stranger Challenges 5 to agricultural innovation in evolving, growing and implementing revolutionary methods to increase productivity, drive efficiency and maximise yields. Challenge AgriTech Innovation 6 With the termination of the EU’s Common Agricultural Challenge Agri BioTech 7 Policy, new agricultural liinitiatives are driving and making it easier for the industry to embrace AgriTech, Challenge Smart Farming to enable innovation, and transform the agriculture, 8 horticulture and forestry sectors. Challenge Soil Productivity 9 There is now, and will continue to be, more opportunities for investment in the excellence of the UK Prizes 10 AgriTech sector to grow new businesses and export overseas. Judges 11 Keynote Speakers 13 Network/Clients 14 Contact Details 15 2 Programme Day 1 - Friday 9th October Day 3 - Sunday 11th October 19:00 - Official Launch 09:00 - Workshop - Pitch Perfect 19:30 - Final Team Formation 10:00 - Mentor Sessions 20:00 - Challenge Brief 12:00 - Final Demos 20:30 - Intro to Judges & Mentors 15:00 - Jury Deliberation 16:00 - Winner Announcement 16:30 - End of Hackathon Day 2 - Saturday 10th October
    [Show full text]
  • Emerging Leaders 2019
    Emerging Leaders 2019 Janelle Anderson Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Janelle is from a farming family based in Aberdeenshire. Their farming enterprise includes breeding cattle, a small flock of sheep and forestry. Having completed her Batchelor of Technology Degree in Agriculture in 2000, she currently works as Regional Events Manager for the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs based at Thainstone Agricultural Centre and also manages the SAYFC Agri and Rural Affairs Group. Janelle is a director of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society, having been the society President in 2017. She is also past chairman of the North East Farm Management Association (2017/18) and currently secretary of the North East Aberdeen Angus Breeders Club. As well as having a long association with SAYFC as a member, from club to national level, she is also a trustee of John Fotheringham Memorial Trust and Willie Davidson 75th Fund which promotes health and safety amongst young farmers. Since being selected to represent Scotland at the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth Conference in Calgary in 2006, Janelle has kept a close link to the RASC, attending conferences in New Zealand and Zambia on behalf of the Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, who hosted the conference in Scotland in 2010 where Janelle was their Next Generation Leader. Janelle is honoured to be attending the Oxford Farming Conference on behalf of the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leaders and is looking forward to meeting the other delegates. James Beary 38-year-old James (Jim) is an upland tenant farmer from the Peak District, producing prime lambs on contract for Tesco.
    [Show full text]
  • PSA Target 3 (Ii) Delivery Plan
    CAMPAIGN FOR THE FARMED ENVIRONMENT INTERIM REPORT (JULY to DECEMBER 2011) CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 3 2. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 5 3. PROGRESS AGAINST THE CFE TARGETS ..................................................................... 5 3.1 Participation in AES ...................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Key target option uptake in ELS ................................................................................... 7 3.3 Option uptake in HLS .................................................................................................... 8 3.4 Uptake of ELS buffers ................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Uncropped land ............................................................................................................. 8 3.6 Voluntary management ................................................................................................. 9 3.7 Remaining targets ......................................................................................................... 9 3.8 Changing attitudes and behaviour .............................................................................. 10 4. COMMUNICATIONS ......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the an English Agribusiness Lobby Group
    Understanding the NFU an English Agribusiness Lobby Group Ethical Consumer Research Association December 2016 Understanding the NFU - an English Agribusiness Lobby-group ECRA December 2016 1 Contents 1. Introduction – The NFU an English Agribusiness Lobby group 3 2. Economic Lobbying – undermining the smaller farmer 2.1 NFU and farm subsidies – promoting agribusiness at the expense of smaller farmers 11 2.2 NFU and TTIP – favouring free trade at the expense of smaller farms 15 2.3 NFU and supermarkets – siding with retailers and opposing the GCA 17 2.4 NFU and foot and mouth disease – exports prioritised over smaller producers 20 3. Environmental Lobbying – unconcerned about sustainability 3.1 NFU, bees and neonicotinoids – risking it all for a few pence more per acre 24 3.2 NFU and soil erosion – opposing formal protection 28 3.3 NFU and air pollution – opposing EU regulation 31 3.4 NFU, biodiversity and meadows – keeping the regulations away 33 3.5 NFU and Europe – keeping sustainability out of the CAP 41 3/6 NFU and climate change – a mixed response 47 3.7 NFU and flooding – not listening to the experts? 51 4. Animal interventions – keeping protection to a minimum 4.1 Farm animal welfare – favouring the megafarm 53 4.2 NFU, badgers and bovine TB – driving a cull in the face of scientific evidence 60 4.3 The Red Tractor label – keeping standards low 74 5. Social Lobbying – passing costs on to the rest of us 5.1 NFU and Organophosphates in sheep dip – failing to protect farmers’ health 78 5.2 NFU and road safety – opposing regulations 82 5.3 NFU and workers’ rights – opposing the Agricultural Wages Board 86 5.4 NFU and Biotechnology – Supporting GM crops 89 6.
    [Show full text]
  • 5Th March 2015
    March 2015 LEAF calls on farmers to help educate tomorrow’s consumers Call for farmers to invite schools onto farms for Open Farm School Days 2015 Following the success of Open Farm School Days last year, campaign organiser LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), is encouraging farmers to invite schools onto their farms to enable pupils to gain a better understanding of where their food comes from and the vital work farmers do to manage the countryside. Open Farm School Days is run by LEAF in partnership with Farming and Countryside Education (FACE), alongside Open Farm Sunday (7th June) – with school visits happening throughout June. Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm School Days manager explains more: “Open Farm School Days provide a great opportunity for farmers to explain to the consumers of tomorrow what farming is all about. The visits educate children about how their food is produced, and gives them the chance to get up close to nature. Free educational resources will be available to farmers hosting visits. This year, we have been working with FACE (Farming And Countryside Education) to deliver a number of free School Farm Visit Workshops*. These half day workshops have brought together farmers interested in hosting school visits offering guidance, ideas and support. We look forward to seeing many of them opening their gates this June to inspire children about farming and how their food is produced.” Dan Corlett, Chief Executive of FACE highlights why Open Farm School Days is such an important initiative: “It is vital that we all work together to help the next generation learn more about food, farming and the countryside.
    [Show full text]
  • New Entrants Newsletter Spring 2017
    New Entrants NEWS The Farm Advisory Service was launched The facilitated workshops were run from in September 2016 and includes many the Western Isles down to Stranraer over opportunities for New Entrants to network, 14 different locations (see map). The learn, gain new skills, overcome barriers, workshops were designed to increase be mentored by peers and create successful business knowledge, aid succession farming businesses. decisions and increase technical skills. SAC Consulting have delivered a range of Workshops will be run again over winter workshops over the winter period which 2017/18, for further information on were designed to give new entrants to workshops in your area please contact agriculture a flavour of what’s involved when [email protected] entering into a farming business. Whether people have been looking to get a start on the farming ladder or are a younger member of an existing farming business, the workshops covered a variety of relevant topics. Fergus Ewing Addresses a Full scope to produce more pigs in Scotland. Robert Logan added: “Supporting enthusiasm into the House at New Entrants Conference industry is a priority for Scottish Government but this should not mask the need for new, young Rural Economy and Connectivity Cabinet or aspiring farmers to take control of their own Secretary Fergus Ewing has indicated he hopes to destiny.” increase funding available to new entrants and young farmers. Each of the inspiring speakers touched on the need go that extra mile, know your market and Mr Ewing was the keynote speaker at this year’s have a business plan that accounts for risk and New Entrants to Farming Gathering held at Perth volatility.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of Farming in London and the South East Region
    The Nature of Farming in London and the South East Region The varied soil types of the South East of England give rise to a range of farming systems. Average land quality throughout the region is only moderate with 12 per cent of the land being classified as grade 1 and 2 compared with 16 per cent for England. However, the amount of grade 4 and 5 land is also below the average for England at just 12 per cent compared with 21 per cent for the whole of England. The extensive chalk downland of the North and South Downs supports arable and grazing livestock production. The soil conditions of the weald, comprising silty soils and well drained coarse loamy soils, have given rise to the development of a strong horticultural industry in the south east. For example, deep soils around Canterbury favour top fruit production. The High Weald remains one of the areas traditionally associated with growing hops for beer-making as well as supporting a number of successful vineyards. Field vegetable production is carried out in Kent and coastal areas of Sussex, and brassica growing is practiced in East Kent. In Hampshire, the shallow well drained calcareous silty soils, over chalk, provide good land for cereal growing. Arable, livestock and horticultural production also takes place within outer London. The deep-water port at Southampton provides an important outlet for cereals produced in the South East. The proximity to London of many producers in the South East has provided opportunities for retailing of farm produce through farmers markets and other outlets, as well as supplying hotels and restaurants in the city.
    [Show full text]
  • Farm Management Handbook 2019/20
    The Farm Management Handbook 2019/20 Editor Alastair Beattie SAC Consulting October 2019 This publication is co-funded by the Scottish Government and EU as part of the SRDP Farm Advisory Service Enquiries: Telephone: 0131 603 7525 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sruc.ac.uk/fmh Price: £28 plus postage and packaging © SAC Consulting 2019 ISSN 0308-5708 ISBN 978-0-9931063-8-5 ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE FARM MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK An electronic version is available free at www.fas.scot as part of the SRDP Farm Advisory Service. ORDERING A HARD COPY OF THE FARM MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK IS EASY If you would like to order a hard copy of the publication it can be obtained from SAC Consulting as detailed below: . Visit the SAC Consulting webpages and order online: www.sruc.ac.uk/fmh . Email: [email protected] . Telephone: 0131 603 7525 (answerphone out of office hours) . Contact your local SAC Consulting office (see pages 540-542) . Write to: Farm Management Handbook Sales, SAC Consulting, 2 Technopole Centre, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PJ (cheques payable to SAC Commercial Ltd) Foreword At the time of writing this foreword to the 40th edition of the Farm Management Handbook the future of agriculture within the UK, together with our trading relationships with those outside the UK, remains in the balance. After the UK’s proposed exit from the EU on 31st March 2019 was postponed, there has been growing speculation about what the final exit agreement will actually look like and how it will be implemented on the ground.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Farm Sunday – Farming Shines on Record Breaking Day
    9th June 2015 Open Farm Sunday – farming shines on record breaking day This Sunday (7th June) was the tenth anniversary for Open Farm Sunday, and thanks to the support from across the whole farming and food industry, the campaign enjoyed a record breaking day with a quarter of a million visitors! National organisers LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) paid tribute to the hundreds of farmers who opened their gates and thanked all those who helped and supported them. With the majority of farms basking in sunshine, more visitors than ever before visited a farm for Open Farm Sunday. Nearly 400 farms opened this year and while final figures are still being obtained, LEAF estimates that visitor numbers for 2015 will be over 250,000 - exceeding the record breaking attendance of 2014 by more than 15%. Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm Sunday manager at LEAF said: “Our tenth Open Farm Sunday has been a resounding success and a fantastic celebration of British farming and food. From the feedback received so far, it’s clear that Open Farm Sunday enabled hundreds of thousands of people to have an amazing day in the countryside, learning about farming and the story behind their food. We’re particularly delighted so many families took the time to visit farms up and down the country, many for the first time. On behalf of LEAF I’d like to offer a huge thank you to everyone involved. Open Farm Sunday 2016 will be on the 5th June, so please put the date in your diary so we can continue to build on the success we have achieved together.” Sponsors of Open Farm Sunday 2015 include: Aldi, Arla, Asda, BASF plc, Defra, Farmcare, Farmers Weekly, Frontier Agriculture, John Deere, Kellogg’s, LEAF Marque, Marks and Spencer, National Farmers Union, Syngenta, The Tesco Eat Happy Project, Waitrose plus the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (from its BPEX, DairyCo, EBLEX, HGCA and HDC divisions).
    [Show full text]
  • The Economic Impact of Extreme Weather on Scottish Agriculture
    The Economic Impact of Extreme Weather on Scottish Agriculture 25 February 2019 Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 4 Potential Impacts on Scottish Agriculture ............................................................................ 4 Impact on Livestock Numbers ........................................................................................... 5 Impact on Fodder Supplies ............................................................................................... 9 Impact on Crop Production ............................................................................................. 10 Other weather related damages ...................................................................................... 12 Calculating the Economic Losses ...................................................................................... 13 Ongoing impacts ........................................................................................................... 14 Supply Chain Impact ...................................................................................................... 14 Meat Processing and Wholesaling....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Farming Tomorrow
    Farming Tomorrow British agriculture after Brexit Warwick Lightfoot, Joshua Burke, Nicholas Craig-Harvey, Jonathan Dupont, Richard Howard, Rebecca Lowe, Richard Norrie, Michael Taylor Farming Tomorrow : Farming Tomorrow British agriculture after Brexit Warwick Lightfoot, Joshua Burke, Nicholas Craig-Harvey, Jonathan Dupont, Richard Howard, Rebecca Lowe, Richard Norrie, Michael Taylor Policy Exchange is the UK’s leading think tank. We are an educational charity whose mission is to develop and promote new policy ideas that will deliver better public services, a stronger society and a more dynamic economy. Registered charity no: 1096300. Policy Exchange is committed to an evidence-based approach to policy development. We work in partnership with academics and other experts and commission major studies involving thorough empirical research of alternative policy outcomes. We believe that the policy experience of other countries offers important lessons for government in the UK. We also believe that government has much to learn from business and the voluntary sector. Trustees Diana Berry, Candida Gertler, Greta Jones, Edward Lee, Charlotte Metcalf, Krishna Rao, Andrew Roberts, George Robinson, Robert Rosenkranz, Peter Wall. policyexchange.org.uk | 2 Farming Tomorrow : Contents About the Authors 4 Acknowledgements 6 Executive Summary 7 Consumers 7 Producers 8 Rural Economy 8 Environment 9 Introduction 10 Why now? 10 What should agricultural policy do? 11 Should we seek self-sufficiency in food? 12 Public goods and environmental protection 14
    [Show full text]