BRITISH farmers and growers this week issued a challenge to politicians of every party ahead of the general election: make farming a core part of the agenda in the next government.

Mr Ben Gill, president, called on all NFU members to ensure their prospective parliamentary candidates did not ignore farming and the rural vote.

There were encouraging signs that the agricultural recession might have bottomed out, but the industry remained extremely fragile.

"There has never been a more crucial time to influence politicians," he said. "For many farmers and growers, this will be the most important general election of their lives."

Mr Gill launched the general election challenge document which covers 14 key areas and which prospective candidates will be asked to support. It calls for:

l an economic policy whose key aim is to avoid excessive currency fluctuations, and appropriate measures to address the effects of an overvalued currency;

l the removal of unnecessary red tape and over-regulation and for European regulations not to be "gold plated" by central government and local authorities;

l the immediate withdrawal of "green taxes" such as the climate change levy, which, the NFU argues, will not achieve their environmental objectives but will hit British farmers, not their competitors.

Between June 1998 and 2000, 51,300 farmers and farm workers left the UK industry. Farm incomes have fallen by almost 70pc in the last five years, bringing the average to £5,200.

Bank borrowings by the industry amount to £10bn, with investment at its lowest levels since the 1970s