Go organic, farmers told

A report published today on the future of British farming is set to call for more organic foods and urge supermarkets to stock increasing supplies of locally-produced meat and vegetables.

In a move which will be welcomed by environmentalists farmers could also be financially rewarded for protecting the countryside.

The report, which the Government called for in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis, has been produced by members of the Policy Commission and is entitled The Future of Farming and Food.

It is thought to offer a real chance for radical reform because the commission's members come from a variety of backgrounds including farming, consumer groups, environmental organisations, food processing and supermarkets. Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett today called it a "watershed".

One of the key recommendations is that farmers may have to obtain ecologicallyfriendly licences before qualifying for subsidies. Farmers will also be encouraged to establish themselves as cooperatives and use farmers' markets to sell their produce.

Industry leaders accept that farming is in need of wide-ranging reform with consumer confidence at an all-time low.

Foot-and-mouth caused many farmers' businesses to collapse and the misery has been compounded by the continuing tragedy of BSE and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Repeated studies have shown that shoppers remain concerned about the standard of produce being delivered to butchers and supermarket shelves.

Despite the £2 billion the UK receives in direct payments from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, the sector remains deeply demoralised.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England says it is hoping for "a significant switch away from damaging agricultural production support to greater resources for rural development and green farming".

The commission's report, compiled under the chairmanship of Sir Donald Curry, former head of the Meat and Livestock Commission, calls for a significant increase in organic farming. Currently, more than 70 per cent of the organic food eaten in the UK is imported.

Providing incentives for supermarkets to stock produce made in the locality is considered a bold approach to assisting farms in the areas worst hit by foot-and-mouth, such as Cumbria and Devon.

However, Mrs Beckett will have to persuade Chancellor Gordon Brown to find an extra £100 million - the cost of funding the conversion from a farming system based on intensive food production to one favouring more organic farms and conservation measures.