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2002 CMA Conference
5-7 September 2002
"Policies, Places and People, Countryside Change
For All"
Venue: Moulton College of Agriculture, Northampton
The 2002 CMA National Study Conference and AGM was held 5th to 7th September 2002. The conference aims were:
Conference Report by Tim Lidstone-Scott
With the national debate apparently focused on how we achieve a sustainable countryside the 2002 CMA conference was aptly titled Policies, People and Place. "Conferences should make participants think; this one certainly did". Conferences should make participants think. This one certainly did. If this country is to take advantage of the post FMD understanding of the need to change then we all need to be working to provide the political momentum to ensure that change takes place sooner rather than later. We need to influence the policy, we need to understand the needs of people and of the countryside, and we most certainly need to be crystal clear about the vision we have for the future of our countryside.
Farmers now need to be given clear guidelines/policies that will allow them to move forward but move forward to what? Average farm incomes are currently below anything that many us would accept, the middleman is sapping most of the food-generated profit and current policies are a decade behind the country’s needs.
The almost complete detachment between education and the countryside is an issue that has been recognised for several years. CMA members along with a few others have probably been among the leaders trying to bridge this gap, but has the goal been visionary or just unthinking promotion of the status quo? Perhaps what we need now is a complete review of how we interact, the messages we give out and whether as a professional body we should be raising the stakes. Think environment rather than countryside. Beautiful open spaces or indeed just open green space provides for the spiritual refreshment of this nation’s people. It is easy to forget that for many people doorstep countryside means an urban or urban fringe environment. We forget this at our peril.
So what is the vision and who else could sign up to it, who are the partners?
As professional countryside managers
and as the CMA we can either continue to give service as usual or we can develop
a vision, become committed environmentalists and join with others to persuade
Government and the nation that they must take our countryside seriously.
Delegates at the conference
Let the debate begin.
Tim Lidstone-Scott
Conference Report by Liz Gaunt
Before
I left home I felt that perhaps, as I come from an organisation with
an urban bias, some of the speakers and field trips would not be particularly
relevant to my work. Due to my urban position I felt it was possible that my
presence might be queried. I also had apprehensions due to the rumoured male
drinking club ethos, which I had heard associated with the CMA.
So, armed with many preconceptions, I arrived in Moulton. The speakers on Thursday, the very ones I felt would hold no relevance for me, stimulated, entertained and provoked thought. The field trips of Friday dispelled my final bastions of doubt. I am left with the nagging impression that urban greenspace and countryside management are not so different. We are facing similar issues and, frequently, reaching the same conclusions. Could it be possible that we could learn from each other?
I was incredibly impressed with the organisation of this event and I feel congratulations should be offered to the Home Counties/East Anglia team, as well as the staff at Moulton. As for the male drinking club image – there were plenty of women, perhaps 40-50% of attendees and the bar offers the perfect opportunity for relaxed networking. No problems there then and preconceptions merrily laid to rest!
Liz Gaunt