With UK agriculture descending into a deepening spiral of seemingly endless crises, as disease outbreak follows food scare, the supermarkets consolidate their grip on the food chain and thousands of small farmers are pushed over the brink of survival, here at Corporate Watch we have been searching for ways to work with farmers in the interests of the countryside and against the all-devouring agribusinesses and superstores.

Concern has long been expressed in activist circles about industrial farming methods. Over the last few years, while many have been campaigning against its most extreme manifestations, such as genetic engineering, we have neglected to look more generally at the effects of the corporate takeover of agriculture in the UK. Activists have generally seen farmers as well-off Land-Rover-driving, ancient-hedgerow-trashing subsidy-junkies, best known among activists for their collective cry of 'git off moi land' on mass trespasses and GM crop actions. Meanwhile, farmers have mostly seen activists as a bunch of untidy city types telling them how to live and invading their land on mass trespasses and GM crop actions.

There is, however, a harsh social and economic reality to farming today which risks the countryside becoming little more than a factory for the superstores, interspersed with golf courses and barren land. The current foot and mouth outbreak will only hasten the demise of the smaller and family run farms. If trends continue over the next 5 to 15 years we are likely to see a decline in the number of farmers from 165,000 to between 8 000 - 15, 000. This is not just a social disaster on a par with the death of the coal industry, but a cultural and environmental nightmare for anyone who cares about the British countryside and the people who live there.

When we start to unpick the stereotypes¸ we find that it is the largest 20 per cent of farmers that get 80 per cent of the subsidies. We also can begin to understand that as supermarkets pay farmers less than the cost of production for their goods, it is no wonder that the smaller farmers have become totally reliant on subsidies to remain solvent. Shockingly, the average yearly income for farmers is around £5,000. This works out far less than the minimum wage. It is also unsurprising that farmers are forced into cutting environmental corners to make ends meet as the more crops you can grow, the more subsidies you can claim. Furthermore, right from the beginning of the Common Agricultural Policy, subsidies have encouraged big business to take control of agriculture as they are, in effect, money for nothing.

Agribusiness may be considered 'efficient', however it this is because of hidden subsidies. We pay for the transport infrastructure, cleaning pesticides out of our water, extra health care to deal with pesticide poisoning and nvCJD. Socially we are paying for cheap imports (and the consequent increase in 'food miles') through climate change, rural unemployment and depopulation, decreased animal welfare, increased risk of disease spread (as evidenced by the FMD outbreak) and the decreased freshness of produce. Can it be 'efficient' for Britain to export and import almost identical amounts of butter, some of it from as far away as New Zealand? The WTO Agreement on Agriculture encourages the liberalisation of agriculture, which can only lead to further unnecesary movement of produce.

With MAFF, the NFU and the Countryside Alliance decidedly skewed in favour of the agendas of large landowners and industrial farmers, grassroots campaigners and direct activists realised the urgency of making links with farmers and exploring the ‘common ground’ so we can use our skills at campaigning and action to pressure the corporations and highlight the issue to the general public to help bring about real change in food production and the way we treat the land.

An exploratory meeting took place on 13th March in Oxford, with the foot and mouth crisis making the issue all the more pressing. It brought together around 30 activists from across the country and several key progressive farmers, although foot and mouth kept away other farmers who had been hoping to attend.

A large dose of tact was required on all sides, and everyone obliged, with the happy result that no injuries were incurred, a lot of stereotypes were challenged, and a plethora of ideas emerged for forging links; for example highlighting the fact that supermarkets screw farmers by paying below the cost of production, and also looking into MAFF and the NFU and how they have systematically ensured that small farmers continue to go out of business, making way for corporate agribusiness.

No-one is under the illusion that an alliance between farmers and activists is going to be easy to put into practice, but it was agreed that we should meet again, and carry our ideas and inspiration back to our respective communities. We can provide assistance to anyone wanting to organise local activist/farmer gatherings.

The International Day of Action for Farmers’ Struggle against GMOs and Patents called by Via Campesina on April 17th could provide a focus for further action, as might the agribusiness-oriented 'Global Agriculture 2020: Which Way Forward?' conference at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, from 18th -20th April. See the diary for more information.

If you're interested in getting involved, contact Lucy or Pippa at Corporate Watch.

(lucy@corporatewatch.org, pippa@corporatewatch.org) We also plan to put together briefings on corporate agribusiness in the UK and start an email list.