Our farmers are more important than ever before

Reading your front-page report last week about how a senior Government official had suggested that Britain doesn’t need its own farming industry, I had to check the date, just to make sure it wasn’t April 1.

Dr Tim Leunig’s comments left me speechless. What happens if we can’t get imports, due to war, terrorism or natural disasters? Is Dr Leunig going to skip across a rewilded field and snack on some weeds? Imports would also increase our carbon footprint.

Jo Horn, Warnford, Hampshire

Dr Leunig may well be an economic genius, but he’s not great at geography, is he? Before suggesting Britain could follow Singapore and not bother with agriculture, he should look at an atlas. Singapore is predominantly a city built on an island with a tiny amount of green open space. In contrast, we have vast amounts of countryside. He should be looking at encouraging a sustainable farming industry to reduce our dependency on imports.

Barry Davies, Chorley

It’s difficult for me to express how grateful I am for your editorial criticising Dr Tim Leunig’s theories. I have been roaring for years that one of Britain’s most important occupations is farming. Our lives do not depend upon politicians or their advisers. Our lives are, first and foremost, dependent upon good quality air, water and soil. Thus, responsible farming is absolutely vital.

We are blessed with a temperate climate and fertile soils – it would be irresponsible, naive and negligent not to use them.

Please thank Dr Leunig for his efforts and then guide him into a quiet, dark room for a period of R&R, followed by a long, inspiring walk in our farm-rich countryside.

Zarayna Pradyer, Chessington

The UK has a very long history of farming. The land is what makes us – something Tim Leunig seems not to understand. Farmers are the most important workers in our economy. Without them and their huge knowledge of nature, the seasons and the land, we could not survive. British farming practice has the highest standards in the world. We do not want this to be diluted in the name of free trade globalisation. Common sense, please.

David Harvey, Chippenham

D Dr Leunig’s blinkered view that the UK doesn’t need farmers is as mad as believing we didn’t need them in 1939. Our trade talks with the EU could well result in no deal, so home-produced food will provide the only alterna alternative to unaffordable, high-tariff European imports, or cheap factory-farmed, drugpumped junk from America. Roy Daniels, Luton

During the Second World War, our imports came under fire from Nazi Germany. If it were not for our farmers, we would not have survived as we did.

If Dr Leunig sings the praises of Singapore, why doesn’t he make haste to live there? M. Langley, Coventry

How do people like Dr Leunig get into a position of influence? He may have a brain the size of the Isle of Wight, but such proclamations are drivel. Chris Sharp, Leeds

Many people might think that we don’t need a pharmaceutical industry either. But the coronavirus has brought China, a major supplier of drugs, to a halt. Many hospitals and chemists may soon start experiencing shortages. We can live without many things except life-saving drugs and food. Alan Aitchison, Wakefield