BRITAIN'S FOOD

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 81, 5 April 1941, Page 8

BRITAIN'S FOOD

RELIANCE ON THE SOIL

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

THE MEAT QUESTION

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, April 3

The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. R. S. Hudson, said in the House of Commons that since 1914 the amount of arable land under crops had actually decreased by 4,500,000 acres. For every thousand acres of cultivated land in the last war, he said, there were 1195 human beings to be fed. The figure was now 1524. Moreover, there had been a general decline in fertility of the British soil, taking the countvy as a whole.

Between the outbreak of the last war and this, production of fodder and root crops for live stock had fallen by no less than one-third. In the last war 2,300.000 acres had been ploughed up. By next spring it was expected that 3,750,000 acres would be ploughed. He did not think anyone could legitimately say that the farming community had not made a remarkable contribution.

At the beginning of the war, he said, 28 per cent, of Britain's cultivated land was under crops, and that figure had now been increased to 42 per cent, .

The aim in agriculture was to increase the output of goods that mattered, such as potatoes, milk, and vegetables. Milk production was maintained, and the consumption of milk in January was higher than ever before.

As regards labour, last week the Secretary of War had lent him 5000 members of the Pioneer Corps. There were a certain number of conscientious objectors and aliens on the job, and he still had hopes that they might get some German prisoners. But when they got these there would still be need for further labour.

Concerning the use of parks, golf courses, and derelict land, he said he had come to the conclusion that it was better to use available labour, machinery, and fertilisers for increasing the production of existing arable land, rather than to bring new land under cultivation. *

In the last seven months, agricultural committees had done nearly as much for reclaiming land as the Italian Government had done in 13 years in reclaiming the Pontine marshes.

A new body was to be created which would devise methods of incorporating into farming practice all promising results of scientific research.

With regard to future policy, Mr. Hudson said there was bound to be a meat shortage. Meat importations would continue for several months, and British agriculture would have to step into the breach to make good the shortage and maintain the meat ration of the people. They should have to keep up their dairy herds, getting rid of poor yielders. There would have to be a reduction of meat cattle. The numbers of sheep would have to be kept up, and there would have to be a good deal more ploughing of grass land, an intensified drainage campaign, and better cultivation.