Fair Deal For Farmers: Why Shropshire MP Owen Paterson backs our drive

While all of these are important, North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson thinks it is time we look closer to home –to the rolling hills of Shropshire and Mid Wales, in fact.

"The food and drink sector is Britain's largest manufacturing industry, bigger than cars and aeroplanes combined," he says.

"It employs one in eight people, and many of these jobs are in rural areas."

Pledging his support to the Shropshire Star's Fair Deal for Farmers campaign, which is also backed by the National Union of Farmers and the Farmers' Union of Wales, the former environment secretary says farming is crucial to the British economy, and every bit as important as the heavy industries and financial services sectors which tend to dominate discussion.

"I have lived in the countryside all my life and represented a rural constituency for more than 19 years," he says.

"I am in no doubt about the vital role farming plays in our society economically, environmentally and socially."

And Mr Paterson is calling for consumers to do their bit for British farming by being more selective about what food and drink they buy.

"One of the ways people can help is by buying British produce," he says

"Make sure you buy British butter and British cheese. You can buy cheddar cheese from Belgium or South Africa now, so it is important to look at where it is produced."

A vocal campaigner for Britain to leave the European Union in the run-up to the June referendum, Mr Paterson says Brexit will also free the Government to adopt a "buy British" policy when buying food and drink for public services.

"The UK taxpayer spends £2.4 billion on public procurement for hospitals, schools, defence and prisons," he says.

"This must be directed towards UK producers in a manner that is compliant with World Trade Organisation rules."

He says it is vital that when Britain leaves the European Union government policy not only encourages the substitution of imported food with that produced in the UK, but is also geared towards and export drive which will see British food and drink aggressively marketed around the world. So far this year, some 21,000 tons of British pork have been shipped to China, up 73 per cent on last year, and during his time as environment secretary Mr Paterson visited the Food and Hotel China trade fair in Shanghai, as part of the largest ever delegation of food and drinks companies from the UK.

"I also attended a reception in Hong Kong where I carved a prime piece of Yorkshire beef to promote our new agreement to sell beef on the bone there," he says.

"British food is increasingly marketable abroad thanks to its excellent reputation. Our animal welfare standards are some of the highest in the world. We have top quality ingredients and raw materials coupled with rigorous food production systems. We have totally reliable traceability."

Mr Paterson says that as people are becoming more discerning about what they eat and drink, there is a golden opportunity for British farmers to differentiate themselves. This is backed up by the growing number of retailers – be it pubs, restaurants, shops or markets – which now take the view that informing customers where their food comes is an essential part of the service.

"I have visited some excellent farmers' markets in some of our towns, and they are now becoming more common in the big cities, too," he says.

"People are becoming more aware of what they are eating, they want to eat healthy local produce."

"We must not only capitalise on the opportunities that exist across the globe but also on the huge support

amongst the public for UK farmers and the genuine desire to buy local products. We need to convert this

support into buying decisions, supporting growth in the sector and the wider economy. "

Mr Paterson says the number of other industries which depend on agriculture should also not be underestimated.

Yesterday, we revealed how just one farm – John and Sarah Yeomans' farm in Adfa, near Newtown – supported 39 companies and almost 229,000 jobs, and Mr Paterson says it is important that we recognise the contribution that agriculture makes to the British economy.

Indeed, before entering parliament, Mr Paterson himself worked in the leather tanning industry, itself heavily dependent on a strong agricultural economy.

"It has long been a theme of mine that we should support our farmers," he says.

"Every farm has a big impact on the local economy, whether it is through the support of building contractors, or the services such as banking and insurance.

One of the important issues raised during the referendum debate surrounded seasonal farm workers, and Mr Paterson stresses that it is important that farmers will continue to be able to source a ready supply of casual labour when Britain does leave the EU. He calls for the reintroduction of a scheme similar to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme, which ran from 2010 to 2013, which would allow farmers to employ skilled labourers from not just Europe, but across the world.

Mr Paterson also says it is important to recognise the role that farmers play in supporting the environment which makes Shropshire and other rural areas such special places to live and work. By preserving the rural landscape, farmers play a major role in supporting British tourism, and this must be recognised particularly where they do work which would not be viable without some form of subsidy.

"There are large areas where the landscape cannot generate enough income from food production alone," he says.

"A tourism industry worth £30 billion depends upon our mountainous regions and national parks being properly maintained, and we must seize the opportunity for a more flexible, independent policy to encourage this.

"There is a clear role for government subsidies to reward farmers and landowners for the work they do in maintaining and improving these most precious environments.

"It is vital to maintain current support from the Treasury to fund a comprehensive rural policy growing the rural economy and improving the environment."

Join our campaign – and highlight how you place the produce of Shropshire and Mid Wales in the shop window.

We have launched a directory of businesses that support our region's farmers - see it at shropshirestar.com/farmers

You might be a butcher, baker, deli or even a florist. You may run a restaurant, pub or cafe. Or you may sell your wares at fairs or farmers markets.

As long as you use produce made by farmers in our region, you can be included.

The Shropshire Star will create an online directory of businesses that support our farmers.

And we will send you a Fair Deal for Farmers window sticker that you can display to your customers.

It is easy to get involved:

Send an email to us at: newsroom@shropshirestar.co.uk

Write to: Fair Deal, Shropshire Star, Ketley, Telford TF1 5HU

We need to know your name, the name of your business and its address and how you support farmers – please also name farms you support and the produce you either sell or serve up.