Seems like a situation - and set of demands - which many anarchists, socialists and ecologists might agree with. Support locally produced food, a decent wage for farmers and workers and a breakdown of the monopoly of the powers of supply and distribution by a large multinational. Perhaps ripe for an RTS style (dockers) alliance?

I'm all for building coalitions with farmers, but FFA - no way. I can't see how an alliance with reactionary tosspots like them would benefit us in the slightest.

FFA are not the countryside alliance, the real wealthy tosspots and I am sure some dialogue between us and people involved is worth the effort. If we want to make this world a better place then food production and farmers are an important part of that. FFA have at least shown that they are desperate enough to take direct action to defend themselves. It has to be worth talking to them about the issues we agree on and perhaps more importantly the issues we don't and seeing if there is a potential to work together. If we find that we can, then this can only be a good thing. My main point is that you never know until you try and the potential benefits outway the potential waste of time.

FFA are not the countryside alliance, the real wealthy tosspots and I am sure some dialogue between us and people involved is worth the effort. If we want to make this world a better place then food production and farmers are an important part of that. FFA have at least shown that they are desperate enough to take direct action to defend themselves. It has to be worth talking to them about the issues we agree on and perhaps more importantly the issues we don't and seeing if there is a potential to work together. If we find that we can, then this can only be a good thing. My main point is that you never know until you try and the potential benefits outway the potential waste of time.

FFA have a case and I'm sure lots of us sympathise. Can someone from FFA suggest what we can do practically to help?

I am planning to help the FFA by surveying the price of certain vegetables, cheese, fish and meat in my two local supermarkets (Tesco and Waitrose) as well as the street market and compare them to farm-gate prices (which I'm sure FFA can provide). Then I'm going to publish it in the local press in a kind of name-and-shame campaign. I just can't believe that supermarkets can get away with charging two quid for a humble cauliflower while farmers sell them to supermarkets for 10-20 pence each!

FFA is running a campaign against Tescos, the largest supermarket monopoly which generally dictates all farm-gate prices, to force them to pay decent prices for locally produced food. So if anyone can think of anything they can do in solidarity with farmers, then go for it! But I think FFA got a lot of stick for blockading fuel depots in 2000 after sections of the media, government and police branded them violent thugs. Consequently, they're not so keen on full-on direct action for fear of bad publicity and losing the argument within the NFU.

The FFA's efforts seem to be targeted at provoking the NFU to take a more radical stance, instead of being an insider group in government, so they've got to bring more farmers and the general public on their side. I'm sure they'd appreciate the support, although they're a bit weak on ideology and are sometimes too populist. But I think their hearts are in the right place, which is more than can be said for most people in this country.

I've spent the last year or so focusing on the issue of how we can bring environmental/anti-globalisation activists together with farmers. I work with Corporate Watch doing research into the food industry, but also work with a group called Action on Corporate Agriculture. If you are interested in getting involved with this we have an email discussion group called Pruning Hooks. Email me if you want more info.

I think Farmers For Actions latest announcement is totally what we are about: social justice and the environment versus the corporations.

Small farmers in the UK are a shrinking, disenfranchised and exploited group living at the sharp end of globalisation. The UK government is trying to destroy them as they did the coal miners because they aren't, and never will be globally competitive, whereas large corporate owned chemical intensive farms could be. There is a great deal of potential common ground with farmers who are anti-GMO, anti-hunting, anti-supermarket and pro-environment and pro-animal welfare. And there are many of them out there who have mindblowing stories to tell about how they have been exploited by the supermarkets and food processors. its often not appropriate to talk about vegetarianism with farmers, but there are plenty of other areas of common ground. And as has been mentioned, there are also many tenant farmers out there who do not own land.

I met with some of the FFA folk just after the fuel protests and couldn't really see how to move forward as they seemed to be having internal problems, and I was unsure where they were politically.But talking to some other Farmers For Action folk more recently it feels as though the globalisation penny had really dropped and they were talking about forging solidarity with eastern european farmers and wanting to get a coach load of farmers to the next G8 meeting etc etc.

We have been targetting supermarkets with leaflets about farmgate prices and how farmers are being ripped off, which are a bit out of date now, but we hope to keep this up, so contact us if you want leaflets. There are also many of us wanting to start a more general campaign against supermarkets but focusing on this exploitation of farmers issue. This I think could be a really effective way of showing solidarity with farmers, and bash supermarkets in general.

I think FFA need all the support they can get right now. I also think they may be the only hope we have to stop the countryside becoming souless agricultural prairies and giant animal factories owned by multinationals interspersed with golf courses, second homes, theme parks and out-of-town shopping complexes. So drop them an email of support or make contact and go on their next demo.

A long post, but may help people who want to get involved in any cooperative action with Farmers for Action.


FAA Website:

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

TO SECURE A SUSTAINABLE LEVEL OF INCOME FOR FARMERS AND GROWERS

To secure this level of income in the longer term it will be necessary to:

Bring about a more consistent attitude from PLC companies promoting quality assurance i.e. (quality assurance should apply to all foods irrespective or where it is produced. Thus bringing to an end cheap food, which does not meet UK quality assurance standards.

Raise environmental issues, such as the costs to the environment of the unnecessary transportation of food over long distances.

Act as a pressure group to influence NFU reforms, to make the Trade Association a more effective/reactive body representing the need of grassroot working farmers.

To lobby government and the European parliament on issues relating to a sustainable agricultural industry, so in essence an industry unfettered by subsidy, but an industry which gets paid a living wage for producing quality food for British people.

CONTACT ADDRESSES:

CHAIRMAN - David Handley
Dairy Farmer from Monmouthshire
Tel 01291 690224 Fax 01291 690984

VICE CHAIRMEN -
(North)
Tom Houghton (Joint N.West)
Farm Manager from Cheshire
Tel/Fax 01270 762006

(South)
Kenton Honeybun (Wilts/Dorset)
Dairy Farmer from Wiltshire
Tel/Fax 01747 860314


TREASURER & PUBLICITY MERCHANDISE - Paul Reynolds
Cereal & beef farmer from Chippenham
Tel/fax 01249 652285 Fax 01249 443451

C0-ORDINATORS

Paul Ashley (Joint N.West )
Farmer and timber merchant from Cheshire
Tel 01270 760593/526062 Fax 01270 526020

Andrew Bebb (Shropshire)
Tel/Fax 01743 860113

Nick Fish (Cumbria)
Dairy Farmer from Aspatria
Tel/Fax 01697 322019 Mob 0796 1512056

Andrew Greenwood (Lancashire)
Dairy farmer from Lancashire
Tel 01706 369545


James Badham & Kathy Harris (Somerset)
Dairy farmers from Wells
Tel 01934 712414 Mob 07970 980882

Mike Haskew (Herefordshire)
Dairy farmer from Ross-on-Wye
Tel/Fax 01989 770210

Brian Hewlett (Devon)
Farmer from Yeovil
Tel 019345 850364



Roger Hopley (Staffordshire)

Farmer & Waste Disposal contractor from Stone

Tel/Fax 01785 760201

Bruce Horn (Hampshire)
Tel 01489 877365

John McClusky (Midlothian)
Arable and dairy farmer from Edinburgh
Tel 0831 527357

Donough McGilycuddy (Northamptonshire)
Businessman from Heselbech.
Tel 01604 686484 Fax 01604 686335


Alistair Nairn (Bamffshire)
tel 01807 590266

Brian Parry (Monmouthshire)

Dairy Farmer from Raglanb

Tel/Fax 01291 690496


Watkyn Richards (Pembs)
Beef & sheep farmer from Haverfordwest
01437 710401 Fax 01437 721823

Robert Robertson (Kent)
Tel 01843 847212

Richard Thomas (Powys)
Sheep & beef farmer from Knighton
Tel 01547 510226

Maurice Vellacott (Devon)
Beef & Sheep farmer from South Molton
Tel 01598 740310

Eddie Whitehead (Warwickshire)

Dairy farmer from Southam

Tel/Fax 01327 260634

Eryl Williams (North Wales)
Farmer from Flintshire
Tel 01352 759447

Alex Wilson (Berwickshire)
Tel 01896 849225