Call to farmers and food service industry to contribute to House Of Lords inquiry
Lord Carter of Coles, chairman of the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Farming, will today tell members of the foodservice industry that there is still time to contribute to the Committees inquiry into Innovation and EU Agriculture.
The aim of the inquiry is to identify how innovation in EU agriculture can be best supported, particularly at a time when factors such as population increase and climate change have greatly impacted the scale of the challenges facing agriculture in the UK, Europe and globally. Contributions are invited from across the agricultural, food production, retail, environmental and research sectors.
Speaking at an industry event in London promoting foodservice and agriculture, Lord Carter of Coles, will say:
We intend that our inquiry will shine a light on the possibilities for innovation in EU agriculture, and show how the CAP and other EU policies can help or hinder the work of implementing those possibilities. I have no doubt that input from those directly involved in farming and foodservice operations will mean that our inquiry will be better informed and that its findings will be all the more influential.
YouTube Lord Carter explains the inquiry
The Committee will be considering:
how far agriculture is innovating today
what the obstacles to innovation are
what challenges are likely to drive innovation in the future
the key players and structures needed to support innovation in EU agriculture
how the Common Agricultural Policy and EU Research Programme can help to resolve the issues identified
The closing date for written evidence is 24 September 2010. The Committee will begin to take oral evidence from witnesses in the autumn with a view to reporting before next summer. To submit evidence or find out more about the inquiry and the work of the Committee, please visit the Committee web pages
1) Lord Carter of Coles will give the keynote speech at the Footprint Forum, a membership body that brings together key decision makers and opinion formers in the foodservice sector. For more information visit http://www.footprintmedia.org/foodservice/forum/.
2) To find out more about the membership, remit and work of the House of Lords Committee, please visit: www.parliament.uk/hleud.
3) Lord Carter of Coles talks about the inquiry on Parliament’s YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/UKparliament.