Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of farmers who have left the agricultural sector in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire in each of the last three years.
[148084]
Answer
DEFRA does not collect data on the number of farmers leaving agriculture. The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture collects data on the numbers of people working on agricultural holdings. The following table presents relevant labour estimates at 1 June for the latest three years available.
These results are based on a sample survey of farmers so are subject to a degree of statistical error. Year-on-year changes for individual counties should therefore be treated with caution and longer term trends will give a more robust picture of activity.
| Agricultural
labour force on commercial
holdings1 | |||||||||
| County/unitary
authority | Farmers,
partners, directors and spouses
full-time | Farmers,
partners directors and spouses
part-time | Total
labour | ||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Cambridgeshire
CC | 1,490 | 1,523 | 1,564 | 1,420 | 1,477 | 1,527 | 7,174 | 6,285 | 6,577 |
| Norfolk | 2,438 | 2,423 | 2,480 | 2,560 | 2,652 | 2,723 | 11,949 | 12,269 | 12,744 |
| Suffolk | 1,885 | 1,822 | 1,900 | 2,071 | 2,207 | 2,259 | 8,132 | 8,207 | 8,541 |
| 1
Commercial holdings are those with significant levels of farming
activity. These significant levels are classified as any holding with
more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards,
0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more
than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000
poultry. |