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Even In Countries Such As France And Germany Farm Sizes Are Significantly ...

Even in countries such as France and Germany farm sizes are significantly smaller.
Figure 2 Farm Sizes

At the same time as the above results were being witnessed, there was also a significant drop in employment within the industry. This was partially due to the economic position of Agriculture, but at the same time the historical tradition of offspring following their parents onto the farms was also being broken, with less enthusiasm being shown for taken over the role of farmers due to the long hours of work required for relatively low levels of return. Figure 2 shows how severe this decline was in the five years to 2000, with a loss of over sixty thousand employees in that period representing nearly ten percent of the previous workforce. The loss of skilled workers resulting from persons leaving the industry served to exacerbated the economic problems that it was experiencing.
Figure 3 Fall in workforce

Source: http://www.ukagriculture.com/farming_today/farming_crisis.cfm
In the case of Cornwall, much of this decline has also been fuelled by the increasing concentration upon the tourism attraction of the area. For example, due to the economic benefits, many traditional farmers have transferred the usage of parts of their agricultural land from food production to activities that will capture a share of the tourist market, such as campsites and caravan parks.
The position in Wales has become even more extreme than Cornwall. Central Wales is a more remote location than its Cornish counterpart, with a low internal level of infrastructure and a less developed transportation systems, which makes it less accessible for business and consumers alike. As a result, local businesses and services such as health care have closed or transferred their services to towns and cities, and much of the rural population has followed. This situation, together with the economic decline in agriculture as previously outlined, has led to many farms in the area becoming economically unviable.
UK Food Processing Industry
Food processing is defined as being any method or technique that is used to transform the raw product, being meat, vegetable, cereals and other food products, to an edible dish for the average human. Without this part of the supply chain our diets would be more limited than they are today, with less variety to choose from and a more seasonal aspect to the food we purchase. Therefore any process, from the preparation of meat at the Butchers to the preparation of ready-made meals for consumer consumption on sale in supermarkets is a part of this process. Food processing also increases the durability of the product, increasing the shelf and use life, which has the effect of reducing waste whilst at the same time increasing the quantity of supply. Indeed, as the BNF (Factsheet 2000) rightly observe, without food processing it would not be possible to sustain the needs of modern urban populations.


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